Bruce Lee was not a “fitness freak” just for the sake of it. He had a definite major purpose –an idea he got from Napoleon Hill’s book Think and Grow Rich. His supreme physical shape is a manifestation of his pursuit of excellence in order to achieve the life he wanted for himself and his family. He actually achieved his dream goal of being the biggest Chinese Star in the world.

The Wrist Roller – Fantastic for Forearm Strength

I believe using wrist roller because is one of the best ways to train your forearms. First, you get to train with a fatter grip which always makes the exercise harder and allows for more work to be done by the gripping muscles in the forearm.

Second, both the extensors and the flexors of the wrist get to be worked in a single exercise. But the best part is that you are not simply flexing a muscle and trying to keep tension on it. You are doing real work so your muscles can’t help but work at full capacity.

What Is a Wrist Roller

The wrist roller is a simple device that you can create yourself very cheaply. It’s basically a piece of PVC piping to which you attach a rope. At the end of the rope hangs a weight plate.

You can attach the rope to the pipe by drilling a small hole, guiding it through and tying it. A karabiner at the other end of the rope allows you to slide it and clip it to secure the weights. In this way adding more weight is fast and easy.

How to Train With the Wrist Roller

Take a look at this video we shot at the awesome terrace of our gym. The exercise is simple – you hold the wrist roller in front of you and roll under control up and down. Make sure to roll in both directions – to work both the flexors and extensors of the wrist.

Also control the lowering portion of the move. Generally beginners don’t need direct forearm training. Once you are past beginner stage however, and especially for folks with skinny forearms like me, it’s forearm workout time.

The forearms can be trained very heavily. Work them out with the wrist roller at least 3 times per week with at least 3 sets of flexion and extension. The weight and reps depend on your choice – both high and low reps work – just make sure to work at your limits in order to make the forearms grow.

How to Create Your Own Wrist Roller

It is actually very easy to create your own wrist roller. All you need is a thick PVC pipe, a rope and some weight. Here are a few tutorials on how to create a sturdy axle mounted wrist roller so you are not limited in the weight you can use:

• DIY Wrist Roller Ross Enamait posted a new tutorial on his blog on how to create your own wrist roller and mount it on a squat rack.
• Axle Mounted Wrist Roller This is the original thread on Dave Draper’s site. This particular page is a fantastic resource for all sorts of DIY home equipment.
• How to Make a Rack-Mounted Wrist Roller Here is another tutorial on a rack-mounted wrist roller.

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We don’t want to hurt ourselves. What follows is a selection of videos I found online with people demonstrating the drill. If one of these videos is yours, apologies for using it as a *bad example* – I only want to help people get strong and stay safe.

Mistake #1 – Extending The Arms

This video is a good example of someone overcompensating his lack of strength with bad form. Remember, the weight you use is not important. What matters is that you use perfect technique and gradually increase the weight over time. This ensures strength and lack of injuries.

In the full contact twist, the arms should remain locked or almost locked and no movement should come from them. Pushing with your triceps makes the exercise easier and thus less effective. Here is a screencap from the above video showing how the instructor pushes with his arms:

[Note how he is using the strength of his tricep to overcome a sticking point in the movement. Cheater, cheater ]

Mistake #2 – Using Restricted Range Of Motion

Using the full range of motion for the full contact twist means to always let the bar touch your thigh. There are two reasons for this, but before this – check out our cute model demonstrating crappy form. Now, let’s continue:

First, all natural full body movements need to be done with full range of motion in order to gain strength throughout the whole movement path that the joints allow. This results in both strength for your muscles and health for the joints.

Second, when you do the FCT and finish mid air, this means that your body, or center of gravity, is too distant from the weight. Which results in a long lever (or torque) acting on your spine. Ouch! If you still remember your physics, the longer the lever, the bigger the force it exerts. So keep your body close to the bar.

[Take note how this cutie here finishes the movement in mid air. Actually I’d say she doesn’t finish the movement at all – instead decides she’s had enough of the rep and just reverses it lol! If the bar were loaded with a few plates, it would pull on her spine!]

Mistake #3 – Staying In The In The Arch Position Instead Of The Hollow Position

An example for this mistake can be seen in two of the videos I shared with you above – check them out again if you like here and here. Basically these folks are tilting their pelvises back. This position activates the lower back but actually relaxes the abs. And, because with the FCT a heavy bar is trying to push you back, the last thing you want to do is extend backwards even more.

This mistake both severely restricts the amount of force you can exert, and makes the exercise unsafe, as the abdominal muscles are strong in the hollow position and weak in the arch position

[Check out how there is an exaggerated curve in their lower backs. This is a great example of proper form for the arch position. Problem is – the full contact twist needs to be done in the hollow position or you risk hurting your lower back. Ouch again!]

Mistake #4 – Not Rotating The Hips And The Trailing Foot

Here is a video showcasing this mistake. The guy has planted both of his feet and doesn’t rotate them. The hip is also almost stationary. This creates unnatural tension in the hip and knee joints.

The different joints of the body are created for different function. Without getting into too much detail, the hips and ankles need to be mobile and the knees need to be stable. The knee is a hinge joint – just like the hinge of a door it goes only in one plane – back and forth.

The mistake here is that by keeping the hips and ankles stable, the knee joint has to compensate with rotation. So the result is loss of strength because of the inefficient and unnatural movement as well as potential danger for the knee.

[Couldn’t come up with a funny comment here lol!]

Unrelated note: the past couple of weeks I’ve discovered a ton of new and very exciting fitness blogs. I will attempt to share with you some of them in the upcoming posts so both you and I can get to know them.

One of the new fitness bloggers I got to know is Charles Malina. He is a college student with a gymnastic background (he’s got what I call a ‘compact athletic/gymnastic look’) who stays in killer shape. Lets hope Charles shares some of the gymnastic training secrets.

Another new blogger I found is David Grim, a fellow basketball fan and player too. He used to be in top shape but after college basketball let himself go. Now at 37 he regained the physique of his youth. I’m looking forward to reading more practical tips from him.

Image credit

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[She wanted to know if getting that tat was a mistake. Hm, let me think, girl... Tell you what - I like the ink, but all this other extra stuff covering your body needs to go LOL!]

The second issue is whether you do the renegade rows with proper form to ensure that your core gets maximum stimulation. So in this article I will address the issue of proper form in more detail.

Here Is A Video With A Good Explanation Of The Proper Form For Renegade Rows

[This video is very helpful in understanding how to transfer the weight between your arms so that you can row with the free arm. Just watch it and you will see what I mean.]

Here Is My Buddy Vasko In Our Gym Doing The Exercise PERFECTLY With 40kg Dumbbells

[Vasko is very strong for his size 6'2'', 190 lbs, can deadlift 200kg+. Note that he is an athlete and needs his body weight to stay down, yet his strength needs to be as high as possible to be fast and explosive. This is what the relative strength advantage is all about.]

Here Are 3 Examples Of How NOT To Do It

[This guys is twisting like mad. Remember, this is an exercise in stabilization. It is NOT a back/rowing exercise]

[This guy is a little better, but still, almost no stabilization, his hips are lifting off, he is doing way too many reps.]

Renegade Rows are done to teach and enhance core stabilization. Low reps are the only option here. Sets of 10 while good for fatiguing the muscle and building it up, are USELESS here. Maximal contraction is the goal when training for stabilization.

[This guy is actually walking around with the exercise. He is not getting the core strength benefits from this exercise.]

It is true that he is burning some calories – but again the renegade row is NOT a fat loss or general physical preparedness exercise. It is a drill that makes your abs freaky strong and rock hard. If done correctly!

To End On A Positive Note – Here Is My Good Friend Val Doing PERFECT Renegade Rows With 16kg Dumbbells

[That's one tough chick right there!]
Photo by Digita Sophia

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1. Technique

• The hollow position is key. You need to stay as rigid as possible. Tuck in your butt and squeeze the abs hard.
• Transfer weight between the arms This the key to the exercise. If you don’t transfer your weight to one of the arms, you cannot lift the other one AND still maintain a rigid body parallel to the ground.
• Squeeze your but hard Tightening all your muscles is important, but squeezing the butt is especially helpful.
• Tighten the supporting side leg You want to establish a firm support from which to row.
• Don’t twist the hips Most of the videos you will see on the web show people performing the exercise incorrectly. Twisting the body or hips makes the exercise easy and ineffective. Avoid this mistake and keep the body parallel to the ground!
• Row the weight using your back. When doing a rowing motion, always rely primarily on your back muscles (try contracting your armpit muscles) and NOT your biceps. Try leading with your elbow as if your arm was just a hook to which the weight is attached.

2. Renegade Rows Instructional Video

Here is a video of the renegade row. Watch and note the three main keys to the proper execution of the movement.

3. Progression

• Low reps are the only option This is not a bodybuilding exercise. It is not meant to fatigue the muscle. On the contrary – it is meant to teach you how to contract your whole body as hard as possible. So perform low reps with 100% focus.
• 3 sets of 5 are enough Beginners will do fine with just 3 sets. They will progress easily this way while also learning to contract the body and execute the exercise properly.
• 5×5 also works for advanced athletes Once you get good, you can add a few more sets for more stress on your body.

4. Action plan

Here is how you can introduce renegade rows in your workout. You have a few choices.

• Once per week for multiple sets of 2-5 reps. This option is for those who are short on time, but still want to get massive results from the exercise.
• 3-7 times per week for 2-3 sets of 2-5 reps. This is the best way to get GOOD at doing a certain skill.
• Once per week for 2-3 sets of 2-5 reps. This option allows you to add other core conditioning drills such as the L-Sit.

Note, go read Part II of the renegade rows series to discover how people mess up with renegade rows.

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1. Variations

• With bent knees. You can start with this version if you feel you are lacking the strength or hamstring flexibility to do the movement with straight legs.
• With straight legs. Once you are comfortable doing the L-sit with your knees bent, try the straight leg version. The farther your legs are from your body, the tougher it is.

2. Hand Positions

• On parallellets or parallel bars. This is the easiest version, but requires equipment. You can buy a set of parallellets to train at home.
• On your knuckles. This one will strengthen your wrists and knuckles. Good for martial artists.
• On your fingers. Probably the easiest version. See the image above.
• On your fingertips. A slightly different version. Good for martial artists and wrestlers.

3. Progression and Workout Frequency

• Change the variations or hand position. This one is self explanatory. Just go to a different variation or hand position to challenge yourself when it gets easy.
• Progress in time. This is the real deal. Get to one minute non stop in the L-Sit and you will be core bad ass. The way to do it is to do several sets that add up to your total goal time each workout. For example if your goal is 1 minute, do as many sets as it takes you until you reach a total of 60 seconds. So a typical workout could be 12 secs – 10 secs -10 secs – 8 secs – 7 secs – 7 secs – 6 secs.
• When training a skill, it is best to train as often as possible, as fresh as possible. So an ideal variant to train every day and do multiple sets – say after you wake up and before you go to bed, that add up to your total goal time each day. You could do these sets between household chores – say do a set, brush your teeth, do another set, do the laundry or whatever.

There you have it. There are now no excuses not to build yourself a brick breaking set of abs. Even if you don’t have an access to a gym. Even if you have no equipment at home. Even if you have no spare space to train in. And, as a bonus you can’t avoid getting pretty damn strong overall, not just in your abs, when you master the L-Sit.

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The Glutes Are the Primary Movers of the Hip Joint

First – lets define “glutes.” These are the muscles in your butt. Glutes comes from the Latin name gluteus maximus. To me it sounds like the name of Russel Crowe’s character in the movie Gladiator.

So anyway, the primary role of the glutes is to make your upper leg go in alignment with the spine. In other words if the spine and trunk are vertical – the leg must too. So the thigh is pulled down and back. This extension at the hip is primarily propelled by the muscles you are currently sitting on.

Every Movement Involves the Butt Because it Is in the Center of the Body

All natural whole body movements come from the hip joint. Running, jumping, walking, squatting, getting up from a chair – those are all movements that require the extension of the hip. So the ability to feel this muscle and contract it hard correlates to high athletic achievements. Run faster, jump higher, stand up from your chair quicker lol.

Static Force Also Originates From the Glutes

Here is the kicker – the glutes are helpful not only when actually moving your body, but also when statically contracting. If you execute the hollow position properly and squeeze the butt hard, this will allow you to generate much more force on exercises such as the military press. Grip hard and crunch those glutes and you are instantly stronger. This is a process called irradiation that allows adjacent muscles to make each other stronger by contracting. But this is a whole another topic.

How to Perform Glute Bridges to Feel the Butt Working

[This is quite a wimpy looking exercise. Not only does it look that way - it actually is quite lame. But... it teaches you to feel the right muscle working so I guess it's OK lol.]

You need to be able to do two things. Feel the muscle work and contract it on demand when it is the primal mover on an exercise. Such is the case with barbell deadlifts, barbell squats and lunges for example.

The Dangers of a Dormant Butt

The biggest danger of not using your glutes in movements where they are supposed to do most of the work is that when other muscle kick in, your body works in an unnatural way. This can result in nearby or even far muscles and joins getting strained or injured.

For example – the lower back can get hurt if it is forced to do the hip extending job of the glutes. Or the ankles could be strained if misused due to improper alignment caused by inactive glutes.

[And now for something completely different haha.]

It’s just that the body is a complex system. Mess something up and something is bound to go wrong somewhere else. Your body continues to function due to its ability to adapt, but it functions the same way a car with a flat tire continues to run.

Image: Vincent Boiteau

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[Basketball players have good calf development because of their sport. Or is it that they develop their calves for their sport? Which came first lol?]

So anyway, I became a calf training fanatic. I remember I had a classmate who was into bodybuilding and I was asking him all the time about ways to develop my calves for basketball.

Here Is What I Learned

1. When doing calf raises, stretch on the down position for 2-4 seconds. Make sure to do calf raises on a platform of sorts so that you have additional space to lower your heels. The reason for this is that your muscles and ligaments store elastic energy. You want to dissipate this energy by waiting for a few seconds. This way you will fatigue the muscle itself and will not be relying on the stored energy from the descent.

2. Lower slowly and under control. Do this on all pushing exercises. It goes without saying – no bouncing. Control the descent and then pause.

3. Train barefoot, with chuck tailors or with shoes that allow full range of motion. Otherwise you won’t be able to stretch full on the bottom position. Likewise, you won’t be able to fully flex at the top position.

[OK, intermission time. Beach + babes. Enjoy the hot ladies dancing in the sand.]

4. Speaking of flexing at the top position, make sure to fully extend your ankle and concentrate on feeling the muscle contract for 1-2 seconds. Make each repetition count.

5. Bent knee calf raises work the soleus muscle. This is the muscle above your ankle. The best way to do them is by sitting on a machine or with a barbell, dumbbell or barbell plate resting on your knees.

[What's up with me and basketball anyway? I'll tell you what's up - I LOVE this game lol.]

6. Straight legged calf raises work the calf muscle itself.

7. Use progressive overload when training the calves. Start with two legged training without additional weight. Next do two legs and weight. After that, switch to one legged raises without weight. The hardest variation is one legged calf raises with additional weight in your hand.

[I first heard this song on the movie Space Jam with Michael Jordan. Turns out it is way older. Cool stuff!]

8. One of the best ways to train you calves is to run and jump rope. The best tip comes last guys.

Images: uriba cmaccubbin brookenovak

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[Note the tucked in pelvis and the torso shifting forward once the bar gets above head level. The key to the exercise is to keep the weight above your center of gravity - the middle of the foot.]

Here Is How to Military Press Correctly to Get a Strong Upper Body and Wide Shoulders

[Barbell Military Press - pressing a barbell from the standing position above your head. Check out after 0:47 how after the bar passes my head, I shift my torso forward. This is essential so that you can utilize the muscles of your upper back to help with the movement. ]

Another thing that you mustn’t forget is to always grip super hard, whenever you are doing pressing exercises. This ensures that no force is lost throughout your body when trying to lift the bar.

Military Press Checklist

• Flex the legs hard.
• Press the ground through the heels.
• Tuck your plevis in.
• Squeeze the glutes.
• Flex your abs like in the hollow position.
• Keep your forearms vertical.
• Grip super hard.
• Press the bar up.
• Once it passes above your head, shift your torso forward a bit.

Initial Milestones for the Military Press

As I mentioned in the Strength and Size Full Body Workout, shooting for 10 reps with 120lbs/55 kg is a good starting point. Once you hit that, you can say you’ve got some good initial strength.

[Notice how the forearms stay relatively vertical to better transfer force to the barbell.]

If You Are Able To Military Press More Than 200lbs/90 kg Overhead, You’ve Arrived In Mad Strong Land

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[Here is how to perform the barbell deadlift.]

You Might Injure Yourself If You Deadlift Incorrectly

It is super important to have a flat back when picking stuff off the ground. The lower back is not designed for flexibility. It is designed to be rigid and in this position it is strong. When it is flexed, it is both weak and non-supportive to your spine.

Second of all

If you don’t do the barbell deadlift correctly, you won’t be able to lift a lot and thus won’t recruit most of your muscles. So much for the king of all exercises.

[Sit your butt as far back as you possibly can. The start of the movement is when you push down on the ground through your heels. Go on the way up evenly with your whole body like an elevator. Keep your lower back tight and straight.]

[Now, you have the bar just above your knees. You need to do two things. First, squeeze your glutes and extend your hips by pushing and flexing your butt forward. Second, use your lats - the muscles of your armpits - to pull the bar towards your body. Keep your lower back tight and straight.]

[Stand up completely. All of the muscles on the back of your body - head to toe - should be now contracted. Keep your lower back tight and straight.]

[Begin descending by pushing your hips back. Keep doing this until the bar reaches the level below your knees. Keep your lower back tight and straight.]

[OK, once the bar has passed knee level, go down fast with it. You don't have to slam it on the ground, but you don't have to control its speed either.]

This completes one repetition. You should start and end all your repetitions like that. Start on the ground from a dead stop – that is why it’s called a dead lift – cause the weight is lying on the ground. You may have realized what the most important thing is when deadlifting. I keep repeating it because it is that important. You should keep your lower back tight and straight.

More About The Barbell Deadlift Technique

The neck should be in a neutral position. It should be like an extension to the spine – neither looking down, nor flexing back. Contract your triceps, keep your arms straight and locked and grip hard with your hands. Contract your stomach hard like somebody is going to punch you.

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[In the video I did not take the bar from a squat rack, but you should not do it like me. Instead, start the exercise properly from a squat rack.]

Barbell Squat – The Exercise

First – start your squats by taking the bar from a power rack. Grab the bar with both hands. Position it on top of your squeezed upper back muscles and not on your neck. Make sure you have an arch in your lower back at all times. This is what prevents you from hurting your back. At the same time, this will make your lower back strong so you won’t hurt yourself at home trying to move the couch.

Arch in the Lower Back For Safe Squatting

To understand what I mean by an arch in the lower back, try this. Lie on the floor face down, with your arms in front of your body. Now try to lift your arms and your legs off the ground at the same time. This is an exercise called superman. See what happens with your lower back and hold it the same way when you squat.

Barbell Squat – The Basic Movement

Your heels should be approximately shoulder width apart. Your toes will point a bit out. Now, make sure your weight is towards your heels and not towards your toes. Begin by sitting back with your butt as far as you can. At the same time, you will be going down and your knees will go to the sides. Your knees will at all times point in the direction that your toes point. When your knees and the crease between your legs and your stomach are even (so your legs are parallel to the ground) you can start ascending by squeezing your butt and legs. Try to go up and down, like an elevator, and NOT with your butt up first.

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