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Recommendation · Body

Deload Week Variation: Paused Single Leg Squat

Use a unique deload week variation that helps athletes feel strong and explosive from different ranges. During D-load periods, don't cut that much volume — alter the variation just to be lighter. Perform the D-load variation at around 0.6 meters per second. 0.6 meters per second looks like a specific pause variation demonstration.

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

Recommendation from Garage Strength

Recommendation · Body

Setup and Foot Positioning for Single Leg Squat

Use a standalone roller instead of a bench for the rear foot to allow more force into the back foot. Position the front foot so there are 2-4 inches between the pad and the heel. Start at a 90-degree position with the front foot. For short legs, move the foot position further forward.

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

Recommendation from Garage Strength

Recommendation · Body

Zurcher Single Leg Squat: Progression and Programming

Start the Zurcher single leg squat with a dumbbell, then progress to just the bar, then build up over time. During football season, perform six doubles on each leg with about a minute rest. Use on impulse day if you have weaker traps, doing five doubles, five triples, six doubles, or six triples with about a minute to a minute and a half rest.

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

Recommendation from Garage Strength

Recommendation · Body

Beginner Progression: Goblet Single Leg Squat

Start beginners with the easy goblet single leg squat to assess trunk control and coordination. Observe how coordinated the athlete is with their trunk control, check if they are falling forward or hopping their foot, and see if they can get set without looking at their feet.

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

Recommendation from Garage Strength

Recommendation · Body

On dips, slow down and initiate with the chest to avoid shoulder dominance

Jeff Cavaliere advises that on dips, the goal is to make the chest do all the work by slowing down the pace and initiating with the chest out of the bottom of every rep. He warns against rounding the shoulders, which is dangerous and lets the shoulders take over.

ATHLEAN-X™ · You Hate Your Saggy Chest (HERE'S HOW TO FIX IT!)

Recommendation from Jeff Cavaliere

Recommendation · Body

Use cable bench press with an outward angle to force pec activation

Jeff Cavaliere recommends the cable bench press as a way to activate the pecs because the outward angle of the cables forces the chest to work along the adduction line of resistance. He notes it should supplement, not replace, the regular bench press.

ATHLEAN-X™ · You Hate Your Saggy Chest (HERE'S HOW TO FIX IT!)

Recommendation from Jeff Cavaliere

Recommendation · Body

Activate the chest at the start of every bench press rep by pausing at the bottom

Jeff Cavaliere demonstrates and recommends activating the chest at the beginning of every bench press repetition by pausing at the bottom, ensuring the chest initiates the upper portion of the rep, and keeping the shoulders back.

ATHLEAN-X™ · You Hate Your Saggy Chest (HERE'S HOW TO FIX IT!)

Recommendation from Jeff Cavaliere

Recommendation · Body

Use push-ups with slow cadence and sternum lift for chest activation

Jeff Cavaliere recommends push-ups as a no-equipment option for chest activation. The key is to slow down the cadence, get the sternum up on every rep, and squeeze the body off the floor rather than just pushing.

ATHLEAN-X™ · You Hate Your Saggy Chest (HERE'S HOW TO FIX IT!)

Recommendation from Jeff Cavaliere

Method · Body

Perform tricep push away with high arm finish and step-through technique

Do not extend the rope low in front. Keep the arm position high at the finish to increase perpendicularity and tension. Use a 'step through' technique to load more weight: step away from the stack, then step through and push, driving the weight out while stepping toward the cable.

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

Method described by Jeff Cavaliere

Method preserved for inspection; not a verified protocol.

Method · Body

Perform the incline bench tricep kickback with a drag-back of the elbows

For the incline bench tricep kickback, let the dumbbells hang straight down underneath you, then drag your elbows close to your sides and as far back as possible to your waistline. From there, extend back as far as you can with the dumbbells to feel an intense contraction on the triceps long head.

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

Method described by Jeff Cavaliere

Method preserved for inspection; not a verified protocol.

Method · Body

Perform the Wolverine Pulldown to hit the triceps in the shortened position

Use the 'Wolverine Pulldown' to hit the triceps in the fully shortened position. Take a hand-over-hand grip on the cable machine, pull until elbows are tight to the body, then extend the backs of the hands as far back behind you as possible. Use a 'pull, push' rhythm with a slight recoil.

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

Method described by Jeff Cavaliere

Method preserved for inspection; not a verified protocol.

Principle · Body

Focus on what's actually moving when choosing ab exercises

Jeff recommends focusing on what's actually moving when selecting and sequencing ab exercises, and checking whether the pelvis moves through space during lower ab exercises — if not, the spine isn't fully flexing.

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

Claim from Jeff (Athlean-X)

Principle · Body

Portion your plate instead of counting calories

Jeff argues that counting calories is unnecessary if you portion your plate correctly, giving starchy carbs the smallest portion because people tend to overeat them when given free rein.

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

Claim from Jeff (Athlean-X)

Principle · Body

Sequence ab exercises by energy demand: bottom-up first, torso-only last

Jeff explains that bottom-up ab movements require the most energy because you lift the weight of your legs, so they belong early in the workout; torso-only movements can be performed last regardless of fatigue, and combined leg+torso movements can come after fatigue because the obliques provide additional help.

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

Bench dip: triceps-focused variant with a unique contraction, but only safe after fixing shoulder position

The host explains that the bench dip shifts the focus of the dip from the chest to primarily the triceps, and provides a benefit other tricep exercises don't: at the top, the arm is in extension behind the body with a fully extended elbow, giving a fully contracted triceps position that activates the medial, lateral, and long heads. However, at the bottom the shoulders have a huge tendency to round forward, subjecting the anterior shoulder capsule to the same stress as a regular chest dip. Having hands facing forward forfeits the neutral hand-position benefit that dip bars provide. He advises externally rotating the shoulders by pointing the fingers out to the sides or even behind you and opening up the chest; with that setup the bottom no longer has forward shoulder positioning, creatinga

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

Claim from Jeff Cavaliere (Athlean-X)

Creator perspective · Body

Resisted sprinting builds force but always comes with longer contact phases

Overloading the sprint (uphill, resisted sprints, 1080) overstimulates the ankle and calves — athletes complain of DOMS after hard resisted sessions — but resisted sprinting always comes with longer contact phases, so the force gains occur within a duration not short enough to be specific to high-speed sprinting.

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

Claim from Dr. Jean-Benoit Morin

Recommendation · Body

Use weightlifting as the last gym step before field transfer, centered on hip extension

Dr. Morin recommends using weightlifting as a way to link all the muscle chains together for speed carryover, and as the last step before transferring to the field — with everything centered around hip extension.

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

Recommendation from Dr. Jean-Benoit Morin

Recommendation · Body

Do both gym work and field development; only one or the other is suboptimal

Dr. Morin argues it is suboptimal to do only gym work or only field development — it should be both. Hip extension power can be developed at the gym in a non-specific way for some athletes, but for developing athletes he would definitely do both. The exception: elite athletes with almost no margin of gym improvement left may shift to maintaining rather than developing.

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

Recommendation from Dr. Jean-Benoit Morin

Principle · Body

Leading with the shoulders on bench press causes a cascade of issues

Leading with the shoulders on the bench press causes loss of scapular retraction and sets off a cascade of issues.

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

Claim from Jeff Cavaliere (Athlean-X)

Principle · Body

Force can only be improved by moving slower under overload

Dr. Morin explains the physiological rationale behind overload training: overloading a movement slows it down, but slowing the movement is physiologically necessary — force can only be improved by moving slower under an overload of resistance. If you never slow the movement down, you have no way to physiologically improve strength and force.

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

Claim from Dr. Jean-Benoit Morin