As you probably know, there has been an incident involving innocent children and teachers being shot in Newtown, CT. What is wrong with people? I mean, it just makes one think that nothing is sacred anymore. Of ALL people, young defenseless kids? Really?

As I have young nieces, nephews, and godchildren in that age range, I went from being angry, to confused, to just downright sad. With me, there has been a certain point lately that I’ve realized something is wrong here. REALLY wrong. And today just sealed the deal.

Lets face it..the world is turning into a terrifying place. We can’t ignore it. It’s place where you can’t see a movie without keeping an eye on who’s sitting next to you, go to the mall without being vigilant about everything else BUT shopping, or even send your kids off to school without worrying if it will be the last day you see them. Sounds crazy.

I’m practically 29, and I’m supposed to raise my kids in this environment? When I was in elementary school, my only care in the world was when I got to go outside for recess or when we got to watch a movie. My parents didn’t even have to worry much. My brothers, cousins, and I used to walk home everyday, without thinking about dodging bullets or getting kidnapped. Our biggest concern walking home was which way we were going to take that day. Things are different now.

It’s nuts. And here’s the worst part: People are getting crazier. The world is getting worse. There must be something in the water. 10 years from now, who knows what kinds of incidents will be happening.  I don’t know what I would do if something like this happened in my family. I just can’t even fathom it. It upsets me to try and make some sort of sense of what’s to come.

I can’t control what is in store for any of us tomorrow, or next week or even next year, but I do know is that there are things that I can control. I can control how often I pray. I can control how often I say “please” and “thank you”. I can control how often I tell people I love them. I can control how I make people feel. I can control how tight and how long I give hugs. I can control how much I smile. I can control how I can give and honest effort and TRY to create and keep REAL relationships. Life is too short to hide behind the digital facade that is Facebook, Twitter, or Text Messages. Maybe, just maybe, if it rubs off on one person, that person will rub off on someone else. It’s wishful thinking, but as the world continues to take a nose-dive it seems like all we have left is hope and faith in the man upstairs.

Hug the ones you love, and hold them tight. We’ve got a long way to go.

Bang. Bang. This was the result of today’s HIT session.

So over the past couple weeks I’ve been dialing down the volume of my workouts and really upping the intensity. And today? Today was “Arm Day”. I dusted off (literally) one of my old HIT bodybuilding books from when I was training to get HYYYYUUUUUUGE and I went back in time to bang out a Shoulders and Arms session. Damn did it feel good. Want my workout? Read on.

This is all part of me experimenting with some High Intensity, Low Volume bodybuilding training for a little while…and I’ve got to be honest. I love the feeling. Concentrating on rep quality as opposed to quantity I get some really swollen, painful pumps, and really gets the blood moving in your fibers to spark new growth. In my experience, “HIT” (or High Intensity Training) is a great way to induce muscle growth, and up your strength numbers.

Yeah, whatever…back to “Arm Day”. When you’re looking to get big and strong, it is important to have strong arms to handle the loads that you will be stressing your upper body with. Think about it. In every intense upper body movement, you use your arms: Presses, Rows, Carries, Drags, Clubbing your younger Brother in the Face, etc. You even use them in lower body pushing and pulling movements like Squats (yes you use your arms…think about it) and Deads. So to think you might not need some direct arm work (even in small amounts) is just plain idiotic.

Okay so enough rambling. Here is how HIT works (followed by my session today).

In HIT, the key is 1 (maybe 2) “all-out” sets, using slow, controlled, full-range-of-motion reps. Talk about pain? You haven’t felt any if you’ve never tried HIT. And if you have tried HIT and don’t know what I’m talking about, well then you clearly didn’t do it right. The idea behind it is that you are using ALL muscle fibers, slowly, through their full range of motion in 1 to 2 sets to failure. Oh, and you MUST focus on contraction as well. This causes damage and enough stimulation to start rebuild muscle tissue, while not OVER stimulating the nervous system like high volume training regimens do. (Sometimes OVER stimulation of the nervous system is what causes plateaus or regressions in strength). The intensity, coupled with ample rest (you’re training no more that 2-3 times a week) really allows for a great change of pace in the weight room.

So here was the session today:

Shoulders/Arms (After proper dynamic warm-up):
All Reps = 3 Seconds Concentric (Positive Portion) / Pause at Contraction / 3 Seconds Eccentric (Negative Portion)

Dumbbell Lateral Raises
20# each side / 8, 6
Standing Barbell Overhead Press
135# / 8, 5
Barbell Curls
55# / 10
Band Curls
- / 10
Band Pressdowns
- / 10
Weighted Dips
1x chain / 12

Thats it. It only took about 25 minutes total (40 if you include the warm-up). Not too bad.

It was a quick, (painful) one…hurt so bad I was moaning…loud. Who knows what the neighbors thought I was doing in here…especially since I only train while blasting Boyz II Men’s “II” album.

The best part of the whole workout was the fact that I pulled it from page 134 in one of my favorite bodybuilding books, High-Intensity Training the Mike Mentzer Way, and revamped it a little based on the equipment I had available to me. It’s definitely a plus to not have to worry about fancy equipment. The workouts are basic enough to apply to VERY basic equipment that most of us have access to. If you’re looking to try a new, effective method, I highly recommend checking out HIT training. I will update with more on my status of gaining mass and higher strength numbers as I move along!

Keep it heavy (and Intense),
Jersey Beast

PS- Don’t forget to “LIKE” my new Public Coaching page on Facebook. I will be posting all blog updates and training/nutrition updates there!!

It’s “normal” to try and choose things that are so radical that many times we set ourselves up for failure. It’s “normal” to choose things that we think other people would like to see us do. Quit smoking, lose weight, exercise more, drink less, rekindle lost or forgotten relationships, etc.

We shoot for these things, not for ourselves, but because they are what people want to hear. And this is why we fail a few weeks in. You want to know the secret of why we ultimately fail? It’s not because these things are too hard. It is because……we are not accountable to anyone but ourselves. In order to hit goals we set, we MUST surround ourselves with people who WILL not vouch for our excuses. We need people who support our mission of change. Not those who will accept failure. If the people around us accept failure, then we will ultimately do the same. That, my friends, is NOT okay. As we physically grow older, we must adapt. We must change. We must not accept mediocrity. And we must certainly NOT allow the people we once were to overshadow the people we want to become.

Okay, so why am I writing this? Simple. Resolutions start January 1st, and Resolutions FAIL. But Anti-Resolutions? Well, they start at the EXACT time you realize you have something to change.

Here’s the deal: I want to help you reach your goals of Gaining Muscle Mass and Strength BEFORE the new year. I want to see you become the Bad Ass you know you can be NOW. I want to see you make the changes you always knew you could AS SOON AS POSSIBLE. All you have to do is ask. It always works best when someone WANTS to see you do well, but you have to want it first. You have to WANT to better your situation.

Now that this is out in the open (and since no one’s perfect), here is my Anti-Resolution:

I am hoping you can help keep me accountable: I will need your help. I can’t do this alone, and when it comes to your Anti-Resolution, neither should you. For me, the majority of my time has been spent on starting my business this past year. It’s been very hectic with opening the gym and training the members. My problem is that my schedule has been ALL over the place. I haven’t really allotted enough time to some very important things like Family and time with close friends. And Training? While I still have been training, I’ve been mostly going by how I feel that particular day, and fitting it in whenever I can. This may work for some of you, I find that in order to maintain balance with everything else and to get the most out of it, I must schedule in specific time to train myself like I used to do. This will work for a few reasons. (1) It will keep me in a more consistent schedule which will keep me dialed in to the expectations I have for myself as a coach, and (2) will also keep me from shuffling the things that are more important (like time with family) around. It sounds like a win – win.

I will be updating the blog and will be completely transparent on my struggles with the adversity I will face in life, especially when it comes to training and nutrition related subjects. Because, well, no one likes an excuse maker, right? (And believe it or not, like many of you I’ve always struggled with my weight). This is my way to make sure I report to you.

So again, if you want help I am here, ready and willing to do so. But be sure to follow these steps, so you have access to me and so I know you’re absolutely serious about taking whatever your Anti-Resolution head on.

HERE ARE THE STEPS TO TAKE IF YOU WOULD LIKE SOME HELP WITH YOUR ANTI-RESOLUTION:
(1.) Put your name and email in the box below. Doing this, you are confirming that you’re interested in email updates from me when I do post up here.

(2.) Once you do this, you will be forwarded to my Public Facebook Page, “Like” the page itself and post your Mass Gaining/Strength/Performance questions on my Timeline!

Remember we are in this together. I want to see you do well. Don’t wait for the New Year…be THE Bad Ass now.

Your Anti-Resolution Coach,
Jersey Beast

100′ length of intact boardwalk 5 blocks from the beach…after Hurricane Sandy Struck the Jersey Shore. (Belmar, NJ)

There might come a time when you have keep going because you have no choice.

There might come a time where you MUST protect your family.

There might come a time when you MUST DO for people you’ve never met.

There might come a time when your body must go on auto-pilot, and not think about anything else but the task at hand.

My “task” this weekend? Hurricane Sandy.

Listen to the latest episode of “Jersey Beast Radio” to hear about my experience here in NJ, the weekend after Sandy struck the Jersey Shore.

(And for all who were wondering…the woman who promised to feed us came back with about 10 pizzas when she saw we removed the pieces of Gazebo from her driveway…she kept her promise.)

If you can not make it to NJ to help, here is the least you can do.

You can get your hands on either of these E-Book Sets by top-notch coaches for SUPER CHEAP ($10 bucks each), and ALL proceeds will go to benefit Hurricane Sandy Victims.

Jason Ferruggia’s Programs: http://jasonferruggia.com/jersey-strength-disaster-relief-sale/
Zach Even-Esh’s Programs: http://zacheven-esh.com/fundraiser/

PLEASE, PLEASE DO YOUR PART AND DONATE! Every little bit helps.

If you have any questions you’d like me to cover on the next show, send them here: @TheJerseyBeast

-Jersey Beast

Is Paleo the BEST solution for you?

…is the one that works in conjunction with where you are now and where you want to go. Right now, you might be setting yourself up for failure.

Don’t think about starting a new diet or nutrition regimen until you listen to this 10 minute podcast.

Listen to this quick Episode of “Jersey Beast Radio” to find out the quickest and most effective way to choose a nutrition plan for you.

Here’s a quick overview:

1. DO YOUR RESEARCH – Make sure you know what you’re getting yourself into regarding ANY meal plan. If the changes you make are too drastic and/or too complicated, chances are you WILL NOT stick with it.

2. EAT FOR YOUR GOAL – Remember, you MUST eat towards whatever goal you are tying to reach. The foods are relatively the same, the thing that MIGHT differ is calorie count and nutrient timing.

3. SIMPLIFY – Don’t pick and choose different strategies from different diets. Nutrition plans leave out specific techniques FOR A REASON. Some work on a more hormonal level, some work on a level of caloric totals, and some work on limiting specific types of calories. Mixing and matching different strategies might cancel out whatever goal you are trying to reach.

4. GIVE IT TIME – You must give any goo nutrition program AT LEAST 3 weeks of 110% of all out effort. DO NOT be lazy! If it doesn’t work or you feel like it’s not quite right, feel free to change it. If it doesn’t feel right than it’s probably not for you.

Remember, tweaking your nutrition is not quantum physics. Like searching for a new car, you are allowed to test drive them. It IS okay. Just make sure when it’s time to sign the lease, you are confident that you picked the one for you. You wouldn’t pick a Suburban if you need one that gets great gas mileage.

Be Smart and Keep it Heavy,
Jersey Beast

**Send your Questions to Twitter: @TheJerseyBeast

Welcome to “Jersey Beast Radio”

I wanted to give you an update of my Radio Show (Jersey Beast Radio) that I will be doing on Spreaker.com on a regular basis.

This is going to be an UNFILTERED source of info regarding Training for Strength, Mass, Fat Loss and Performance…as well as covering topics on Nutrition, Recovery, and Injury Prevention. Today’s topic is

Feel free to send me over your Questions on Twitter! @TheJerseyBeast

And for those of you who were wondering what a “suspension trainer” is, here you go: WOSS Suspension Trainer  (These are less pricey than the TRX, and in my opinion are made better…just don’t go for the cheapest versions. If you are interested in making one, let me know and I will show you how!)

Don’t forget to subscribe to my channel on Spreaker.com for new episodes, and send me your questions!

Stay Strong,
Jersey Beast

Not gonna lie, I thought this was funny.

Hey Jersey Strength Pit Bulls,

Earlier this week, I was interviewed by Matt Wichlinski (of www.tssathletics.com) to talk training, programming, and training philosophy.

The first question he asked me definitely made me think pretty hard about the industry and where it’s going.

He asked “What is the most important thing when training for performance?”

My answer? Watch this video.

People get so hung up on making things “fancy” or “more functional” and they forget that STRENGTH IS PERFORMANCE. Strength can make you FASTER and more EXPLOSIVE.

I’m tired so seeing coaches and trainers try and outdo each other when it comes to coming up with “new” exercises with attaching things like bands and chains to squats and deadlifts when the people they are coaching CLEARLY cannot deadlift or even squat their own bodyweight correctly.

The reality is that we see Pro Athletes doing crazy exercises that look cool and could keep training programming interesting, but how many people are on that level? Many get so caught up in this shit storm, that they fail to realize how much THE BASICS WORK. Barbell Squats. Lots of them. Deadlifts. Lots of them. Presses. Yep, those too. Throw in some assistance exercises like rows variations, cheat curls, lunges, and dips…and don’t forget banging out some push ups and pull ups.

See how basic this looks on paper? Train with the basics and be a beast.

Now, I’m not saying training with bands and chains on the bar don’t have their place in programming, but you need to make sure that you have THE BASICS down well before then.

So my challenge to you for this week?

SIMPLIFY, IMPLEMENT, REPEAT.

You will be surprised how much more dialed-in your mentality will be when you’re not thinking about how to make exercises look cooler, and you ARE thinking about just pushing some heavy-ass weights.

Now that you know, GET IT DONE.

-Jersey Beast

Here at the Jersey Strength Pit, workouts are getting tougher, it’s getting darker earlier, it’s getting colder outside, and I’m feeling a little crazy. Okay, maybe a lot crazy.

What better way to celebrate my craziness, than for me to challenge you. Are you ready?

Starting 10/13/2012 at 10:30am-11:30am and every Saturday after we will meeting at the beach in Belmar, NJ to train (Sixteenth Street across from Dunkin Donuts).

Yes, in the cold. Yes, in the sand. Yes with me and some other “crazies”.

NO, THIS IS NOT A “BOOTCAMP”. We do not crank up the “dance music” and do mountain-climbers and crunches for 30 minutes. The only sound you hear is the waves and my voice. We push and pull sleds with heavy chains through the sand, sprint with sandbags, toss kettlebells and kegs around, and make people on the boardwalk who think they’re “exercising” by walking at a slow pace…well, they stop, point, and stare.

And, since this is NOT a bootcamp, THERE ARE ONLY 10 SPOTS AVAILABLE. This keeps the coach-to-trainee ratio low.

If you think your typical training routine sucks, stop being lazy and come and be part of the revolution on the beach. I PROMISE you’ve never seen training like this before, and you’ll never have a better group of people to push you PAST the limits you think you have.

Because of the weather, it will be as much mental as it is physical. If you can train in the sand, and in the cold, you can train anywhere. Plus, the feel of the sand and the sound of the waves crashing is almost therapeutic (until I start yelling at you).

(We only train in the Sand, NOT the Water!)

Location (for GPS):
1601 Ocean Avenue
Belmar, NJ 07719
(across the street from Dunkin Donuts)

Price:
This first weekend is on me! Just come by.

Just make sure you bundle up and bring some water.

You won’t regret it, and you might actually feel accomplished if you push yourself OUT of your comfort zone. After all, are you really going to let these two 60 year old’s crush you? Watch out for Donna, she talks trash.

Hey Fellow Jersey Strength Pit Bulls,

So this past weekend I made a trip up to Killington, VT to do a Spartan Race fundraiser for ALS (Lou Gehrig’s disease) with a few Jackson Memorial High School Wrestlers. We were part of a larger team called “Huzzah for Frank!”, Frank being two of the wrestler’s uncles.

Something that should have been a fun physical challenge turned into an unexpected mental and physical nightmare.

But, like they say, what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger. It’s funny that something as silly as a Mud Run can really push your limits when shit hits the fan.
The weekend kind of went like this:

I finished up with coaching some of my Friday night athletes, and then drove up right afterwards to meet up with some of the others who were doing the Spartan Race as well. After leaving around 7pm, I finally got up to VT around 1:30 am. Wide awake from loading up on caffeine for the long drive, I managed to fall asleep around 3am. We all woke up around 5, and headed to the mountain to help with setting up the site for the ALS table. Somehow I registered at the wrong table, and instead of volunteering at the ALS table, I volunteered to work one of the obstacles for the race. I got in a van, and was on the mountain until 12:45pm. This was NOT supposed to happen.

The race was at 1pm.

SHIT. I barely ate, and barely drank anything. The thought of carbing up and getting fluids in my body totally went out the window. By the time I got back down I was freaking out. My athletes were waiting on me, and I had JUST enough time to run to my car and fill my Camelbak with some powdered Gatorade.

I sprinted to the Starting Line and had a bad feeling. Like a nervous feeling. Not one that I was unsure of my physical capabilities, but I knew I didn’t have enough sleep, calories, or fluids in my system. But I should be okay, right?

We all started the race together, and up the mountain we went. My mouth started to get dry, I started to breathe heavy because of the elevation, but my muscles felt pretty good. My body started to warm up, and I started to keep a good pace. Not bad for a 28 year old who was running with a few teens and a 21 year old.

They eventually started to pull away, and I was on my own which wasn’t a big deal since I wasn’t too far behind. I managed to catch up with them around the 5K mark. They were excited to see me, and were yelling over my way to see if I was going to continue on to the 15 miles. (Because they allow for an exit at the 5K mark for those who only wanted a taste of the race.) Of course I was I was going to go the distance…I’ve done long mud runs before. I mean, What kind of coach would I be if I didn’t, right? Piece of cake.

They got pumped when I said I was moving to to do the whole 15 miles. They pulled away again, and little did I know that I wouldn’t see them again to the end of the race.

Felt pretty good. Gatorade finally felt like it was started to seep in and I was jogging the entire way. I was flying through obstacles. Greased monkey bars? Check. 20 foot rope climbs? Check. Scaling mud filled mountain side? Check. I mean, you didn’t want to screw up an obstacle or not complete them because the workers at the checkpoints made you do 30 burpees if you did.

I got to be about 6 miles in, and came to the second set of barbed-wire. (You basically had to drag yourself through about 200 feet of mud and cold-water covered rocks under the wire. Standing wasn’t an option.)  This is when things went sour. About halfway through this obstacle my legs started to cramp. BIG TIME. Like, I’m talking muscle spasms that practically brought tears to my eyes. I got through this obstacle and stood up. BANG! BANG! BANG! Quads, hamstrings and calves were literally LOCKED UP. I couldn’t bend my knees. My quads and hams were firing like crazy. The more I moved, the more I screamed. I have NEVER had cramps like this in MY LIFE! Think about hooking every muscle in your legs to an electric muscle stimulator…and CRANKING that bad boy to the MAX. I was hurtin’. My electrolyte and fluid balance was WAY off, not to mention, the addition of barely any calories and no sleep couldn’t have helped.

I took a couple minutes to gather myself hunched over in pain, and started to put one foot in front of the other. I started POUNDING Gatorade and these granola bars that I had in my bag (plus a couple of energy gels that someone gave me). Slowly but surely, I was moving forward. The only thing that was going through my mind was that I had to keep putting one foot in front of the other. I had to keep moving. Eventually I hit a flat patch on the course, and the spasms subsided for a little bit. I decided to try run again and within a few steps, BANG! Again, spasms. What the hell? Are you kidding me? This wasn’t supposed to happen.

Slowly I fought the spasms, cramps, and leg lock-ups for the next 10 miles. There was even a point when I started to get spasms in the toes of my left foot.

I still refused to bypass obstacles and do burpees. I was close. But they couldn’t break me. The point that I KNEW I was going to make it was when I came to the sandbag obstacle. You basically had to carry a 40 lb sandbag up a hill about 100 yards. I started up the hill, and within 10 steps, my legs started locking again. PAIN. I dropped to my hands an knees. But the sandbag never fell off my back. After all, doing burpees wasn’t an option. It literally took me at least 35 minutes to make it up and down that hill. Baby steps, mixed in with crawling, and groans I managed to make it up to the top. The photographer at the top looked at me and he said “Come on, you’re gonna make it.” I told him. “Oh, I got this.” He replied, “I know you got this.”

This was about 8 miles in and was the point of no return for me. If I could drag myself up and down 100 yards both ways barely moving my legs, then I could finish. There was no doubt in my mind at that point. I kept trudging along, and just put one foot in front of the other without trying to think how much I had left.

I kept seeing people pass me and it was psyching me up, and at one point, the EMTs tried to get me to stop. They said they would drive me back down because if I left them, there wouldn’t be any more medical staff until the finish line. I told them I was fine and HAD to keep moving.  I kept pushing through each obstacle that came my way, even when it meant swimming across a lake with locked-up legs. I CHOSE to swim (…if you want to call it that, it was more like a half doggie paddle) instead of bypassing and doing burpees.

It got to be late, and VERY dark but I was still trudging along down the mountain in the woods…and just when I thought the worst was over, it started to downpour. I was wet and cold, and ran out of fluid in my Camelbak. Everyone at that point had headlamps because there would have been no way they would have been able to make it down safely without one.

Strategically placing my steps went out the window, and I was just trying to not get hurt or fall down the mountain. Falling into and grabbing onto trees, sliding down rocks, and losing my footing, step after step. But each time, I got up. Locked legs and all.

After about 2 long hours in the darkness, climbing down a mountainside I finally saw the finish line.

After miles of agony, I finished in just under 8 hours.

I saw my athletes, and they were excited. They wanted to know what happened to me since they finished almost 2 hours before me. I pretty much told them what I’m telling you. Some unexpected things came up. Cramps, No Food, Ran Out of Fluid.

But then I said to them, “What kind of Coach would I be if I quit when it got tough?” And they looked at me. I think something clicked.

Jackson’s Wrestlers and Frank!

I mean, #1: I was there for ALS, so there was no question about finishing since no matter what pain I had, it was temporary. ALS is not. I was not going to complain or quit, and #2: I wouldn’t be able to look my guys in the eyes if I didn’t finish.

This was more than just a “Mud Run” or a “Spartan Race” it was THE biggest mental test of my life. Not because I wasn’t in shape, or didn’t train for it, but because of a slight change of plans in my preparation that day.

See, the hardest thing you’ll ever do, is give your body the finger when its doing EVERYTHING in it’s power to make you stop.

I’m sure you you’ll have a test like this somewhere in your life time. Most people will give up. Are you “most people”? Will you keep putting one foot in front of the other through the pain even though you can barely move your legs, or will you go down the mountain in a truck with the EMTs? Will you choose to swim or will you walk around the lake to do burpees instead? Will you complain, cry, or bitch about how it hurts or how its not fair that you didn’t get to eat or drink, or will you take that sandbag up and down the hill no matter how long it takes or how much it hurts?

Just because you prepared for something doesn’t mean in can still knock you on your ass. The question is, “Will you get up, and will you keep moving?”

In the end, the choice is yours. Don’t look back and wonder “what if I kept moving?”, just keep your head down and place on foot in front of the other.

If you would like to donate to the ALS Association to help fund ALS Research, CLICK HERE.

-Jersey Beast

The Deadlift.

Some claim its the king of strength exercises. Why? Well, because it involves the majority of the muscles in the body…oh, and if you’re pushing some weight it tends to be hard.

What? Oh, you DO know they’re tough? That’s why you don’t do deadlifts? **shakes head** Okay, well as your Coach I’m going to recommend you start…even if  it means trying a few unconventional methods to boost your girly-man numbers.

Besides practicing the standard deadlift itself, I’m going to give you 4 methods you can use right before the big lift to help increase your strength in this killer exercise.

Method 1: The Kettlebell Swing
The Kettlebell Swing “awakens” the same muscles used in the Deadlift, but fires them in a more dynamic, explosive fashion. Get good at the Kettlebell swing, and you can be well on your way to boosting your dead numbers. This is especially true when using it right before you go to pull that deadlift off the ground. For use immediately before your deadlifts, try using a moderate weight for 10-12 reps and be sure to FIRE your hips, hamstrings, and glutes HARD!

Method 2: Deadlift/Row Ladders
As you probably know, I’m a HUGE advocate of a strong-ass back. Train your back to be big and strong and you’ll be well on your way to being a Deadlifting Machine. One way to do this is not only to lift heavy weights, but to also condition your back but using super-sets of compound movements. For example doing Deadlift/Barbell Row Ladders. In this example, the ladder will consist of lighter amounts of weight like around 30-45% of your Deadlift 1 Rep Max. Without a break, you will do 1 deadlift, 1 row…2 deadlifts, 2 rows…3 deadlifts, 3 rows…4 deadlifts, 4 rows…5 deadlifts, 5 rows.

This is a total of 15 reps of each. The main purpose of using this method is to prime your back to become more efficient in the deadlift movement as well as strengthen your upper back to help with the load when you go for your heavier DL days.

Method 3: Static Hyper-extensions**
**If you can not do standard hyper-extensions, I will advise that you master them first!

So we covered dynamic/explosive movement,  ”greasing the groove” of the deadlift motion, and upper back strength and development. Now we’re going to cover strengthening the lower back. The lower portion of the back is usually the weakest part of most people’s backs. And chances are if you have weak lower back you will have a weak deadlift. This is a simple tweak on a standard exercises that can really boost lower back strength at a quicker rate.

If you have mastered hyper-extensions, then the simple tweak that I recommend you do is to hold your body straight at the top of the movement for 2-5 seconds on each rep. This will ensure that your lower back gets accustomed to being under tension which will strengthen it when it comes time for your deadlifts. For these, shoot for 1-3 sets of 6-8. If you do them on the same days you do your deads, be sure to do them afterwards. You do not want to burn out your lower back before you hit your big lift.

There you have it. Use these simple, yet effective techniques to up your deadlift numbers in no time. And next time someone asks, you respond “Yes, I Deadlift.” Now we just have to work on getting you off that leg press machine and in the power rack. I know, I know…baby steps.

-Jersey Beast