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Method · Body

Drop curl: technique and rationale

Jeff Cavaliere introduces the drop curl as a transition back to regular curls or dumbbell curls. In the drop curl, you are never in a fully supinated position. He instructs to go very slow and controlled in the first half of the curl because the brachialis does more work in that range. Past the 90-degree mark, the bicep starts to take over. He advises dropping the weight to a point you can handle at a very slow pace and stopping in the mid position to keep tension on the entire time. The arm that is 'not working' stays in the middle portion isometrically while the other works concentrically.

ATHLEAN-X™ · STOP, You're Training Your Biceps All Wrong!

Method described by Jeff Cavaliere

Method preserved for inspection; not a verified protocol.

Method · Body

Narrow grip pronated pull-ups for brachialis

Jeff Cavaliere recommends overhand pull-ups with a narrow, pronated grip to minimize bicep contribution and focus on heavy overload of elbow flexion to hit the brachialis. He advises using an assistance band if needed to achieve 10-12 repetitions.

ATHLEAN-X™ · STOP, You're Training Your Biceps All Wrong!

Method described by Jeff Cavaliere

Method preserved for inspection; not a verified protocol.

Method · Body

How to locate the brachialis

Jeff Cavaliere demonstrates how to locate the brachialis by grabbing your fingers over the top of your bicep to where it starts to drop in; the muscle that pops out is the brachialis.

ATHLEAN-X™ · STOP, You're Training Your Biceps All Wrong!

Method described by Jeff Cavaliere

Method preserved for inspection; not a verified protocol.

Method · Body

Cross body hammer curl technique

Jeff Cavaliere recommends the cross body hammer curl with a fully pronated forearm to minimize bicep involvement and target the brachialis. He instructs to drag the arm up close to the body for maximum brachialis activation.

ATHLEAN-X™ · STOP, You're Training Your Biceps All Wrong!

Method described by Jeff Cavaliere

Method preserved for inspection; not a verified protocol.

Recommendation · Body

Squat bar position options when low bar hurts the shoulders

Going a little wider with the grip on a low bar squat allows more elbow drift upward, moving out of some external rotation into a bit more internal rotation to alleviate discomfort. If that doesn't bring relief, the creator advises switching to a high bar squat with the bar on the upper shelf of the traps, which is more forgiving from a flexibility standpoint. A front squat is also an option because it has none of the external rotation demands of the low bar position.

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

Recommendation from Jeff Cavaliere (Athlean-X)

Recommendation · Body

Switch to dumbbells if bench press tweaks don't resolve discomfort

If discomfort persists after making bench press tweaks, the creator advises skipping the barbell bench press and shifting to dumbbells. When lowering the dumbbells, go slow to make sure nothing is being aggravated, because going fast removes control. Regardless of how heavy the dumbbells are, going slow with elbows tucked and a good wrist-to-elbow relationship allows continuing dumbbell bench presses without stopping altogether.

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

Recommendation from Jeff Cavaliere (Athlean-X)

Recommendation · Body

Use cables and the 1080 machine to overload rotation and translation

Dr. Morin recommends using cables and the 1080 machine or equivalents to increase rotational power: attach to a bar or the wrists, and use pulleys, attachments, and ankle or wrist straps to set a huge overload on almost any type of translation or rotation movement, including resisted spin work.

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

Recommendation from Dr. Jean-Benoit Morin

Recommendation · Body

Select exercises that put the long head in its most shortened position

Choose exercises where the arm finishes back behind the body, putting the long head in its most shortened position.

ATHLEAN-X™ · STOP, You're Training Your Triceps All Wrong!

Recommendation from Jeff Cavaliere

Recommendation · Body

Select exercises that stretch the long head with shoulder flexion and overhead elbow

Choose exercises that put the shoulder in flexion and the elbow up overhead to stretch the long head of the triceps.

ATHLEAN-X™ · STOP, You're Training Your Triceps All Wrong!

Recommendation from Jeff Cavaliere

Recommendation · Body

Include a nightly responsible treat to sustain fat loss

Jeff shares that he includes a nightly responsible treat (like whipped cream on frozen yogurt) to make the fat loss process enjoyable and sustainable, advising others to choose a healthier treat option that satisfies the treat-seeking impulse without derailing progress. He argues that if getting a six pack feels like torture, you will quit before you get there.

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

Recommendation from Jeff (Athlean-X)

Method · Body

Drive ab contractions from the pelvis, adductors, and shoulder blades

Jeff gives technique cues for quality ab contractions. For lower ab exercises, check whether the pelvis is moving through space — if not, you're not flexing your spine and not working your abs fully. To recruit lower ab fibers better, squeeze your knees together or cross your feet over to contract the adductors before performing the movement; the added stability on the pelvis gives more leverage, and you'll feel the difference immediately. For top-down movements, get your shoulder blades off the ground rather than just bending your neck, since shoulder blades driving off the ground is what makes top-down movements work, just as the pelvis drives lower ab movements. He also suggests the 'folding rib cage' technique: draw an imaginary line under the rib cage and fold the body in half along,

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

Method described by Jeff (Athlean-X host)

Method preserved for inspection; not a verified protocol.

Recommendation · Body

If bench press tweaks fail, switch to dumbbells: slow lowering, wrists over elbows

If discomfort persists after making bench press tweaks, the host advises skipping the barbell bench press and shifting to dumbbells. Dumbbells give independence from the bar so the hands can rest over the elbows, providing a much more stable shoulder joint. Lower the dumbbells slowly every time, since going fast removes control and can aggravate the shoulder. No matter how heavy you go, going slow with elbows tucked and a good wrist-over-elbow relationship lets you keep doing the dumbbell bench press without stopping altogether.

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

Recommendation from Jeff Cavaliere (Athlean-X)

Recommendation · Body

Replace the upright row with the dumbbell high pull (wrist above elbow)

The host advises replacing the upright row with the dumbbell high pull, dropping the elbow relative to the wrist so the wrist is higher than the elbow. The high pull works the delts the same way as a lateral raise: the elbow raises, the arm abducts, and you're working the shoulder. Keeping the elbow down externally rotates the shoulder, creating more room for the rotator cuff tendons so the humeral head can move without pinching and causing inflammation.

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

Recommendation from Jeff Cavaliere (Athlean-X)

Recommendation · Body

Keep squatting: switch to high bar or front squat for shoulder-friendly quad building

The host advises not stopping squatting but figuring out the right way to do it for your body. He recommends switching to a high bar squat, where the bar sits on the upper shelf of the traps and there's no demand for external rotation driving the elbows backwards, making it more forgiving from a flexibility standpoint. A front squat is also an option with none of those external rotation requirements. He adds that you can build your quads a little more effectively with either of those two variations.

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

Recommendation from Jeff Cavaliere (Athlean-X)

Method · Body

Combined Shapeshifting Routine

A combined routine for overall spinal flexibility involves wall angels (10 reps), table lat stretch (30 seconds), and a leg-hug abs stretch (30 seconds).

MovementbyDavid · https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ol8qRpffgOE

Method described by MovementbyDavid

Method preserved for inspection; not a verified protocol.

Recommendation · Body

Pre-Season Programming for Field Sports

For field sports (rugby, lacrosse, soccer, football, American football), lay out prep for a pre-season timeframe. In pre-season, make the third day a max velocity day with max velocity sprints. Stay above 0.7 meters per second for max velocity sprints. Above 0.7 meters per second is a little bit faster and typically around 65 to 75% intensity depending on fiber type.

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

Recommendation from Garage Strength

Recommendation · Body

D-Load Variation for Specific Sports

Use the D-load variation for wrestlers, DNs coming off the edge, and sprinters for acceleration and start. The paused single leg squat at 0.6 m/s mimics the penetration step for wrestlers, bending off the edge for DNs, and coming out of the blocks for sprinters. For wrestlers, the pause mimics hitting a penetration step. For DNs, the pause mimics bending off the edge. For sprinters, the pause mimics coming out of the blocks.

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

Recommendation from Garage Strength

Recommendation · Body

Unbroken Rep Scheme and Balance Focus

Use an unbroken rep scheme where you don't stop on any reps to force the athlete to focus on balance. Lack of balance is a sign of weakness and indicates the load is too heavy. Stay on the pad as long as possible. If an athlete takes their foot off the pad more than once in a set, terminate the set.

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

Recommendation from Garage Strength

Recommendation · Body

Rep Schemes Based on Velocity

If going at 0.5 meters per second, do doubles — five doubles is great. Five triples is absolutely fantastic. If looking at the speed component 0.7 or higher, do doubles again. For speed work at 0.7 or higher, you can go a little bit shorter on the rest times.

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

Recommendation from Garage Strength

Recommendation · Body

Single Leg Squat as Percentage of Other Lifts

The single leg squat is typically about 80 to 85% of your best back squat. A good rule of thumb is that your single leg squat should be around your front squat. If single leg squat is around your front squat, your clean will be good. Single leg squat is probably going to be around where your best clean is or a little bit further for field-based athletes.

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

Recommendation from Garage Strength