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In his early 30s, International Federation of Bodybuilding and Fitness (IFBB) Pro League athlete Petar Klančir is still seeking bodybuilding glory. While competing in the Men’s Open division, the Croatian bodybuilder finished in fifth place at the 2022 California Pro in late May. If a recent glimpse at how he tones his muscles and burns fat indicates the future, Klančir could soon be on his way toward outstanding achievement.
On June 21, 2022, Klančir shared a top-to-bottom comparison photo of his physique from a recent undisclosed date and where he stands now.
It is fascinating how the body can change in a few months.
The dramatic steps forward in places like Klančir’s biceps, triceps, chest, legs, and back are apparent. Klančir will take his physique to compete in the upcoming 2022 Mr. Big Evolution Pro Portugal on July 10, 2022, at the Casino Estoril in Cascais, Portugal.
Klančir may have burst onto the competitive bodybuilding scene when he won the 2012 National Amateur Body-Builders’ Association (NABBA) Mr. Universe. Roughly two years later, while competing in the Heavyweight division, Klančir captured a podium position when he finished in second place at the 2014 Amateur Olympia Europe.
From there, Klančir eventually earned his IFBB Pro League Card by becoming the overall winner of the 2015 Mr. Olympia Amateur in Prague, Czech Republic. After that competition, Klančir seemed to dial back some of his participation in IFBB events. Then, following a few years of absence, the bodybuilder returned to pose on an IFBB stage at the 2017 San Marino Pro. He notched a 10th-place result in the Men’s Open division, finishing behind some notable competitors like Hadi Choopan (second place).
With due diligence since that competition, Klančir’s fifth-place result at the 2022 California Pro is one of the better marks of his IFBB career.
Provided he follows through on his participation at the 2022 Mr. Big Evolution Pro Portugal, 2022 will be one of Klančir’s more active years (two events, at the time of this writing) when it comes to IFBB contests.
Like many IFBB bodybuilders, Klančir likely has his sights on the 2022 Mr. Olympia.
To date, Klančir has never competed in a Mr. Olympia contest. He had undoubtedly hoped to change that with a win and automatic bid at the 2022 California Pro but fell short. A victory in the 2022 Mr. Big Evolution Pro Portugal would not grant Klančir an automatic slot but would put him in an excellent position points-wise through the qualification process. He’d likely have to finish or win another contest or two for mid-December.
That sort of effort seems to be worth the trouble to Klančir, who, should he qualify, could be a dark horse for mid-December.
The 2022 Mr. Big Evolution Pro Portugal will take place on July 10, 2022, in Cascais, Portugal. The 2022 Mr. Olympia will occur on December 16-18, 2022, in Las Vegas, NV.
Featured image: @ifbb_pro_petar_klancir on Instagram
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A former fixture in the big leagues, Kyle Farnsworth spent 16 years in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a pitcher, most notably with the Chicago Cubs (1999-2004). After several years away from the baseball diamond, he’s now ready to carve himself out a place in an entirely different profession — as a bodybuilder.
On June 21, 2022, Farnsworth shared a glimpse of his new massive bodybuilding physique on his Twitter account. The 46-year-old will take this muscle-abundant physique to his first bodybuilding competition, the 2022 National Physique Committee (NPC) Sheru Classic Southern USA Championship Qualifier. That contest — where Farnsworth will compete in the Novice Classic Physique division — will take place on June 25, 2022, in Orlando, FL.
While Farnsworth didn’t disclose his precise body weight, it’s apparent that it’s a considerable pivot from his baseball-playing days. According to Baseball Reference, Farnsworth featured at 6-foot-4, 230 pounds during his extended pitching career.
Given the International Federation of Bodybuilding and Fitness Pro League’s (IFBB) parameters for the Classic Physique division, the taller Farnsworth can work with a weight range up to and including 262 pounds. Wherever his weight stands exactly, it’s clear the former pitcher has been quite diligent in conditioning himself for bodybuilding.
A Major Shift
Farnsworth’s shift to competitive bodybuilding in his mid-40s might be most notable for its distinct physical demands. Whereas Farnsworth once had to primarily focus on maximizing his pitching velocity while maintaining a quality command (or accuracy) with his pitches, bodybuilding undoubtedly asks more of his overall fitness and strength.
Instead of striking out professional hitters at the plate, Farnsworth now almost certainly watches what he puts on his plate for meals. After regularly working out his right pitching arm to relative exhaustion during practice and games, he now likely centers much of his energy on training his entire body when he can. Among other body parts, that training focus probably includes Farnsworth’s arms, legs, and core.
The Next Steps
Following a baseball career about longevity, it seems Farnsworth wants to make his bodybuilding foray last. The athlete elaborated on his near-future as a competitor and some of the emotions he’s feeling in a recent post from late May 2022 on his Instagram.
“Four weeks out to my first bodybuilding competition here in Orlando,” Farnsworth wrote. “The NPC Southern USA National Qualifier. Very excited to be a part of the Sheru Classic [Qualifier] and to see what I can do. I will be competing in the Novice Classic Physique class. I have always wanted to do one, and it’s never too old to start. When you are a competitor, you have to find things to compete in.”
With an outright win in the 2022 NPC Sheru Classic Southern USA Championship, Farnsworth can earn an automatic bid in the NPC Sheru Classic Nationals. Those will occur on December 2-3, 2022, in Orlando, FL. If his efforts to remake his physique are any indication, Farnsworth might soon be in store for a stellar bodybuilding career.
Today my pal Brad from bradkearns.com will discuss how you can evolve your fitness goals to age gracefully, preserve health, and pursue peak performance with passion throughout life.
An Athlete Through the Years
It feels as though I’ve had two distinct and disparate athletic careers in my lifetime. Many years ago I was an endurance athlete. It started with distance running in high school (mile and 2-mile in track and 3-mile cross country course) and progressed into a nine-year career as a professional triathlete. I competed primarily at the standard Olympic Games distance of 1.5-kilometer (0.9-mile) swim, 40-kilometer (24.8-mile) bike, and 10-kilometer (6.2-mile run). This event takes under two hours. I particularly enjoyed the occasional “sprint” event around half the aforementioned distances. I also competed at long and ultra-distance. I was 5th in the World Long Distance Championships in France in ’88 (~6 hour race) and I still hold the USA age 24&under record at Hawaii Ironman (~9 hour race) from ’89. Inside the triathlon bubble, we’d distinguish between a short course specialist with more “speed” and a long course specialist with more endurance.
Technically, any triathlon, even a so-called sprint race, is an extreme endurance event from a physiological perspective. Endurance training guru Dr. Phil Maffetone cites exercise physiology research that 98% of the energy for two-hour competition comes from the aerobic system. Amazingly, even the mile run is predominantly aerobic, and the cutoff point for an all-out performance that’s half aerobic and half anaerobic is an effort of just one-minute, fifteen seconds!
Long retired from the professional circuit (27 years!), I’ve become more focused on a broader approach to fitness and pursuing competitive goals that are brief and explosive in nature. In 2018 at age 53, I broke the Guinness World Record in Speedgolf for the fastest single hole of golf ever played (must be minimum length of 500 yards), an all-out sprint (while golfing!) that took 1 minute, 38 seconds. After many years of recreational high jumping, I finally got on the board in 2020 with an official jump that was #1 ranked in the USA Masters Track&Field age 55-59 division. I’m recently over 5’1” (1.54m) at age 57 and will continue to raise the bar in my best attempt to age gracefully.
My obsession with high jumping is strange in that the sport’s objective takes around four seconds—a three second approach and one second from takeoff to landing (okay, Barshim might be in the air a bit longer than that.) That’s a pretty dramatic difference from racing triathlon for hours! I’m clearly less genetically adapted for high jumping than I was for endurance, but the important thing is I have a tremendous passion for the event and for personal improvement regardless of my genetic predispositions. When I achieve a good clearance over the bar in an empty high school stadium, I scream with delight like it’s the Olympic finals. In the most every important way, my satisfaction of success from this later-in-life folly is just as powerful as winning a race on the pro circuit with ESPN cameras and prize checks involved.
Regarding genetics, former Olympic 400-meter runner Andrew Steele made an important point on episode 56 of the Primal Blueprint Podcast years ago that genetic markers are only a sliver of the entire package compromising one’s athletic potential, with one’s natural competitive interest being the most prominent. This idea counters today’s over-pressurized approach to youth sports, and a potential obsession with genetic testing to identify prodigies and immerse them into the correct sport. Steele, a former principal at the DNA Fit genetic testing operation, was shocked to discover that he had predominantly endurance genetics in his muscle fiber composition—despite being one of the fastest 400-meter sprinters in the world (he was an Olympic bronze medalist in the 4 x 400m relay and individual semi-finalist in Beijing 2008, with a best of 44.94.) For Steele, this revelation suggested that he train for his favorite event with relatively more endurance stimulation than explosive stimulation—as might be the best choice for a more genetically explosive athlete.
How to Keep Pursing Fitness with Passion
My healthy competitive intensity aligns with my most compelling message and mission: to pursue peak performance with passion throughout life. Granted, it’s essential to continually recalibrate your goals to align gracefully with your age and lifestyle circumstances, and be supportive of health and longevity rather than compromise them. During a decade of my youth, my extreme devotion to triathlon training, competing and global jet travel challenged my health in many ways, and literally accelerated aging in many ways. When I retired at age 30, my body and my spirit felt like I was 80. I was fried. Today, I believe my sensible, time efficient fitness regimen and healthy competitive intensity support general health and longevity instead of compromise them. Doing something you love is arguably the most important element of your fitness and competitive direction. Take strength training legend Mark Smelly Bell, who enthusiastically integrates long distance running into his fitness regimen! I propose many of us are capable of more enjoyment and better health outcomes when we pursue fitness goals appropriately.
One awakening I’ve had recently is to reframe my perspective about steady-state cardiovascular exercise. Any form of exercise delivers an excellent cardiovascular training effect, however, sometimes the typical approach to steady state cardio can easily become health destructive. When we engage in a recurring pattern of medium-to-difficult intensity, steady-state cardiovascular workouts we can experience a chronic overproduction of stress hormones that lead to breakdown, burnout, illness and injury. Therefore, when it comes to cardio, I acknowledge that walking and general everyday movement offer great cardio benefits, that it’s easy to overdo it, and that the more extreme you get (marathon, ultras, half-iron and iron-distance triathlon), the more you put your health at risk.
I discussed these concepts in detail in an important two-part piece titled, “Don’t Jog, It’s Too Dangerous Part 1” and “Don’t Job, It’s Too Dangerous Part 2“. My passion for jumping and becoming more a resilient, injury-resistant athlete in general led me to revise my typical morning jog. I created a more interesting, varied, and challenging outing (as noted in this Jogging 2.0 video) that delivers all the cardiovascular benefits of a steady-state jog but brings in elements of balance, mobility, flexibility and explosiveness along the way.
Here is a suggested protocol to help you continue your journey to peak performance into the older age groups:
I have a five-year streak of doing a custom-designed, morning exercise routine every day, and it’s been truly life-changing. It’s become the centerpiece of preserving broad-based fitness competency as I age. The older we get, the more we need to work hard to establish a healthy baseline from which all formal workouts are launched. My 24-year-old son might be able to pull into a parking lot and jump right into a pickup basketball game after a few toe touches, but my margin for error in everything I do is much thinner these days. I assert the importance of maintaining a strong foundation after being sidelined from jumping and sprinting for six months with a minor knee injury, which actually turned out to be a muscle weakness/imbalance injury instead of a joint injury. Do something every day to stay mobile, strong and flexible. Also, seek expert attention when injured from athletic-minded progressive practitioners (chiropractic, massage, sports physical therapy.)
I am so enthusiastic about my morning exercise routine that I’ll claim it’s virtually mandatory for any fitness enthusiast over age 50. Whatever you do with your formal workouts (and hopefully micro-workouts), make a commitment to spending at least a few minutes getting the machine oiled as soon as you wake up. Seriously, if you only have six minutes to spare, that’s fine. But integrate a morning movement routine into habit so you can get the maximum benefit and minimal risk you’re your workouts. Visit BradKearns.com for details on how to design your own custom morning exercise routine.
Extensive Low-Level Movement
Strive to increase all forms of general every day movement. Take quick breaks for micro-workouts during the workday, walk whenever and wherever you can, utilize a standup desk—strive to move more in general as a top fitness priority. My Day In The Life video features a ton of different ideas for workplace variation and micro-workouts. If you are fan of steady-state cardio, be sure to conduct the vast majority of your sessions at or below the MAF heart rate of “180 minus age” in beats per minute.
Regular Resistance Training
The most anti-aging benefits come from putting your body under resistance load on a regular basis. Do whatever you enjoy most but do something where you load the muscles and perform brief, high intensity efforts. From a bread and butter of a proper 30-minute session at the gym throwing around weights or doing a machine circuit, you can sprinkle in micro-workouts such as 20 air squats at your desk, or a few sets of bodyweight exercise (pushups, pull-ups, squats, planks). I’m a big fan of the variable resistance training offered by the X3 Bar and Stretch Cordz, and also the all-around benefits offered by the hex bar deadlift.
Don’t overdo it with high intensity exercise. Workouts need never last more than 30 minutes (unless you have high level competitive goals) and all efforts should be performed with impeccable form and maximum explosiveness. Leave the “struggle and suffer” mentality behind and perform crisp, powerful workouts. End the workout if you notice your form and power falling off even a bit. Realize that a sprinkling of explosive effort here and there during a busy week can add up to tremendous fitness progress over time.
I’ve drifted away from doing big sessions at the gym in favor of doing shorter sessions: With all these fitness opportunities in view at home. I might combine 10 minutes with X3 bar, a few minutes of Stretch Cordz, a few sets of dead lifts, and a few sets of pull-ups. This gives me a tremendous total body workout without the risk of breakdown and extended recovery time that might happen from lots of today’s group fitness programming that tends to extends people too far. This includes CrossFit sessions, guided 1:1 or small group sessions with a trainer, or even going through the machines or barbell work with too many sets to the point of exhaustion and depletion. It’s up to you to respect your current fitness limitations, end workouts when form falters or fatigue accumulates, and stay in that sweet spot of performing regular explosive efforts without breaking down.
Sprinting/Jumping Workouts
Brief, explosive all-out efforts are the ultimate primal strategy for anti-aging, fat reduction and hormone optimization. A little goes a long way in this area, and research validates the idea that brief sprints deliver more fitness benefits than steady-state cardio sessions lasting much longer. For most people, one well designed sprint workout a week is plenty.
It’s very important to design a sprint workout correctly. First, include an extensive cardiovascular warmup to get your heart rate and respiration up and break a light sweat. Next comes dynamic stretching, technique drills, and wind sprints. The main set of sprints should almost always follow these guidelines: 4-10 reps of lasting between 10 and 20 seconds. Recovery is six times longer than the sprint, so one to two minutes between efforts. This will enable repeat explosive efforts of consistent quality—same time and level of perceived exertion and preserving excellent technique. If technique falters or more effort is required to achieve the same performance standard (e.g., 20 seconds for an 80-meter sprint), it’s time to end the workout.
In this article on sprinting and jumping, I present a detailed step-by-step protocol for my template workouts. These are scalable for all fitness levels, so please tiptoe into the world of explosive sprinting and jumping and strive to build competency over time in this all-important aspect of all-around fitness. If you are enjoying your sprinting and/or jumping endeavors, you can pair a weekly formal session with another downscaled session consisting of drills and skills. These are not as strenuous as a signature session, but still challenging, and definitely helpful to adapt to the more difficult sessions.
Many fitness enthusiasts are interested in how sprinting and jumping trigger the genetic signaling for fat loss. The penalty for carrying excess body fat when leaving the ground or running at full speed is so severe that your body will adapt very quickly by shedding excess weight. In contrast, there is minimal penalty for carrying excess body fat on a 100-mile bicycle ride or even a slow-paced marathon, which is why these impressive fitness accomplishments don’t necessarily support fat reduction.
Remember: Mornings, Movement, Muscles and Sprinting
If you aren’t current locked in on the objective of pursuing peak performance with passion throughout life, let’s not get overwhelmed with to-do list items. Keep it simple and focus on the four tips covered here: Get a morning exercise routine going of any kind and any duration. Start small, celebrate incremental progress, and build your commitment naturally over time. Resolve to move more in everyday life, especially taking frequent short breaks from prolonged periods of stillness. If you are into steady-state cardio, make sure the vast majority of your mileage is at MAF heart rate or below.
Put your body under some form of resistance load on a regular basis, no matter who you are. In December of 2021, my 85-year-old mother started Dr. John Jacquish’s lauded Osteostrong program—a simple once-a-week strength training session consisting of four, full-body compound movements and lasting only 10 minutes. Seniors can progress faster than any other age group in strength and bone density, so starting at any age can be a life saver or at least a quality of life enhancer! It’s best to get professional instruction before you get into serious resistance exercise, but if you want to get started gently then try doing a set of squats and pushups (with whatever modifications you need to align with your current capabilities) each day. Finally, get out there and sprint once a week—use it or lose it with all levels of metabolic, musculoskeletal, and hormonal function. If you aren’t yet ready to handle the impact of running sprints on flat ground, you can get started sprinting on a stationary bike or other cardio machine.
Thanks for considering these four suggestions, and remember to get started at any level of commitment no matter what. Even a few minutes a week of intense exercise is sufficient to significantly boost your strength and overall metabolic health.
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On June 21, 2022, strongwoman Rhianon Lovelace shared footage of herself capturing a 280-kilogram (616-pound) deadlift from a conventional stance while wearing a lifting suit, lifting belt, and lifting straps. The mark unofficiallyexceeds the current World Record in the 64-kilogram strongwoman division by 7.5 kilograms (16.5 pounds).
Lovelace — who has competed in the 64-kilogram division of late — possesses that record figure thanks to a 272.5-kilogram (600.7-pound) record deadlift at the 2020 Strength Shop Record Breakers.
Given that Lovelace has featured as both a strongwoman and powerlifter, there are certain essential distinctions to keep in mind regarding deadlifting in the respective sports. Powerlifters cannot use lifting straps and must complete their reps without resting their weight at any time. Strongwomen can use straps and hitch the weight above their knees while finishing their pull.
For her latest powerful deadlift, Lovelace appears to lift as a strongwoman as she uses straps and hitches the weight above her knees for a moment.
A Fruitful Journey
This training feat seems to hold particular significance to Lovelace. After exceeding the axle deadlift World Record in early June 2022, Lovelace battled a fit of pneumonia that she said caused her to lose eight percent of her body weight.
In her Instagram post, the strongwoman/powerlifter quickly reflected on her latest achievement and a journey that started with a powerlifting record in 2017.
“This is the number that means such an awful lot to me (obviously aside from the 300),” Lovelace wrote. “Because when we make this legit in competition, I’ll have added exactly 100 kilograms to the World Record since I first broke it in 2017.”
The statistics add up, aside from what might be a small typo by Lovelace. While competing as a powerlifter when she was 20-years-old, Lovelace set the British deadlift powerlifting record with a pull of 180 kilograms (396.8 pounds) at the 2016 Global Powerlifting Committee (GPC) British Finals. Approximately six years later, while lifting as a strongwoman, the athlete has indeed added 100 kilograms (220.4 pounds) to that initial top figure.
The other accomplishment Lovelace references is a 300-kilogram (660-pound) deadlift off low blocks from a February 2021 training session. Notably, that pull was five times her body weight of 60 kilograms at the time.
Following her battle with pneumonia, Lovelace left her near-competitive future up in the air while recovering. Now that it appears she’s at full strength, it seems she’s back to leaving no stone unturned. The 2018 World’s Strongest Woman (WSW) is on a mission to make her new deadlift World Record official soon.
“July 16th, I’m coming to extend my World Record,” Lovelace continued in her Instagram post. “No doubt about it!”
That mid-summer date Lovelace alludes to is a reference to the 2022 Berkshire’s Strongest Man & Woman contest on July 16, 2022, in Berkshire, England. Provided Lovelace faces no further unexpected setbacks with her health, it might be fair to expect her to surpass her traditional deadlift World Record at the competition.
For this already legendary strongwoman, she seldom seems to miss a chance at emphatically stamping her name in the record books.
Featured image: @rhianon.lovelace.kaosstrength on Instagram
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Many lifters want to follow programs that deliver results without wasting time in the gym. One of the most effective ways to achieve that is to train with exercises that work multiple muscles at once. Many exercises can the bill and the simple chin-up is at the top of the list.
Credit: Ground Picture / Shutterstock
This bodyweight basic provides an excellent stimulus to build strength and muscle in your back, biceps, and forearms. Whether you’re working toward your first pull-up or just want to build a more muscular upper body, the chin-up can offer serious gains to any lifter who masters it. Here’s how to get there.
Stand directly under a pull-up bar with your arms at your sides and your thumbs pointing forward. Raise your arms straight overhead as naturally as possible. Once your hands are in line with the bar, supinate your hands (turn them palms-up) and grip the bar. This is your individualized, ideal grip-width that should suit your arm length and shoulder mobility.
Pull your shoulder blades back and lift your feet off the ground. Cross one foot over the other to engage your abs and prevent your legs from swaying. Lower your body to a complete dead hang with your weight supported by straight arms. Your head should be between your biceps, and your elbows should be fully extended.
Form Tip: Raising your arms overhead and supinating your hands is a useful and reasonably accurate guideline to set your grip. However, you may need to fine-tune your grip width slightly closer or wider if keeping your arms overhead is uncomfortable.
Step 2 — Pull Your Chin to the Bar
Credit: RutySoft / Shutterstock
Take a short breath while keeping your chest tall. Externally rotate your shoulders to ensure your shoulder blades are pulled back. Pull your body towards the bar by squeezing your grip and driving your elbows back and down.
As you pull yourself up, your biceps and back musculature will be working overtime, so think about these muscles contracting as you lift. This has been shown to help improve exercise technique and muscle growth. (1) Exhale slowly as you pull yourself up and stop once your chin is at the top of the bar. Your arms should be fully contracted with your elbows near your ribs.
Form Tip: At the top of each rep, hold yourself in an isometric contraction for one to two seconds. If you can see a mirror without turning your head, take a glance to see if your elbows are pointed straight down to the ground or angled in towards your body’s centerline. If they’re pointed straight down, your shoulders are likely externally rotated, which is ideal for joint health and muscle recruitment. If they’re angled in, your shoulders are more internally rotated, and your joints are being strained.
Step 3 — Lower Under Control
Credit: ASA studio / Shutterstock
Maintain a strong position through your core to mitigate any swaying. Think about your muscles lengthening as you descend until both your biceps and back musculature are fully stretched at the bottom position. Don’t allow your body to swing in the dead hang. Squeeze the bar tightly and flex your abs to keep control.
Form Tip: Movements like the chin-up should be about quality over quantity. If needed, allow yourself a few seconds to reset between each rep so that you are performing them with a high rate of work. Five perfect reps are a better goal than 10 sloppy reps.
Chin-Up Mistakes to Avoid
The chin-up can be a simple bodyweight exercise, but there are a few technical errors to avoid if you want to build muscle, get stronger, and be as efficient as possible when performing each rep.
Excessive Swinging
Just like its arguably more popular sibling, the pull-up chin-ups require you to stabilize your entire body to minimize stress on the shoulder joint. However, there is a slight difference in the outcome of excessively swinging in the chin-up.
Credit: Pavel L Photo and Video / Shutterstock
CrossFit has popularized kipping pull-ups, which use significant total-body swinging to complete very high-rep sets. Still, any swinging during chin-ups leaves the shoulders internally rotated, which increases strain on the shoulder and elbow joints and drastically reduces any muscular tension in the back muscles.
Whether you are trying to build muscle or strength, allowing any swinging is not going to get you closer to your goals.
Avoid It: Focus on a one to two-second pause at the top of each rep and make any necessary adjustments to keep your shoulders externally rotated — get your chest up and shoulder blades back.
Not Using a Full Range of Motion
Some gym-goers fall into the half-rep trap with chin-ups, performing a minimal range of motion from the top of the rep to almost halfway down and back up again.
Credit: oneinchpunch / Shutterstock
This rushed approach is extremely ineffective. This short range of motion will reduce the time under tension of the working muscles, which means each rep provides less training stimulus, and you’re preventing yourself from getting stronger or building muscle.
Avoid it: Always remember to focus on quality over quantity. Don’t fall into ego lifting, and don’t be concerned with how many reps another lifter may be performing.
Benefits of the Chin-Up
When executed correctly, the chin-up can be one of the most complete upper-body exercises with minimal equipment.
Credit: Drazen Zigic / Shutterstock
It can increase strength and muscle development in your back, chest, and shoulders; support postural development, and improve shoulder mobility.
More Muscle for Your Biceps and Forearms
Using a supinated grip changes muscle activation and emphasis. This grip places a higher load on the biceps while also recruiting the forearm muscles. (2) Chin-ups allow lifters to train their biceps using relatively heavier loads (their body weight) compared to many other biceps exercises, while the back muscles act secondarily to assist the movement. This makes it an ideal exercise choice for the overall development of the forearms and biceps and for building grip strength.
Functional Hypertrophy and Strength
The functional nature of the chin-up means by becoming better at it; you will also improve your general physical performance. (3) This can easily translate to several contact sports like football, rugby, combat sports, rock climbing, or even swimming. Functional training can also help in your day-to-day lifestyle. A strong back, shoulders, and arms will benefit everything from carrying groceries to carrying kids.
Easy to Progressively Overload
To get stronger and build muscle, you need to provide some progressive overload — consistently more challenging weight or reps. With the chin-up, all you need is your body weight. Not a stack of plates, just you. When you can achieve 12 controlled reps for three or four sets, you have mastered the bodyweight chin-up.
Lifters can take many months or years depending on their training plan, to get there. At that point, you can hold a one or two-kilogram (two or five-pound) dumbbell between your legs and work your way back up to sets of 12 reps. Rinse and repeat this process, taking small jumps in weight each time as you say hello to your new gains.
Muscles Worked by the Chin-Up
The chin-up is an upper body exercise that works most of the muscles in your upper body. The biceps are worked significantly, while the back and shoulders contribute to the movement.
Credit: kittirat roekburi / Shutterstock
Biceps
The biceps are composed of two heads — the long head on the outside of the upper arm and the short head on the inner portion. Both parts of the muscle originate at the scapulae (shoulder blades) and attach near the elbow, with the long head also crossing the shoulder joint. The biceps are significantly recruited during the chin-up because the supinated (underhand) grip places the arm at a mechanical disadvantage.
Forearms
The forearms, including the flexors on the palm side and the extensors on the top side, work to support your body weight during chin-ups. The flexors, in particular, are heavily activated when pulling towards the top portion of each repetition.
Latissimus Dorsi
The lats are the largest muscles on the back. They attach to the upper arm and the spine near the lower back. They work to bring the arm closer to the body’s centerline from above the head as well as from out to the side. The arm goes through both of these motions during a chin-up, which is why it’s an effective way to activate the lats.
Upper Back
The upper back includes several similar-functioning muscles such as the trapezius, rhomboids, and rear deltoids. Each work to control various movements of the scapulae (shoulder blades) and to support the shoulder joints under muscular stress, particularly in the bottom portion of the chin-up.
Who Should Do the Chin-Up
To develop a strong and muscular back, most lifters over-focus on the pull-up. However, chin-ups can be more of a fundamental movement and more effective for gaining in size and strength.
The chin-up is especially useful due to its versatility and carries over to many pulling movements in sports and daily activities.
Training for Bodyweight Strength
To get stronger, especially with any bodyweight exercise, you must treat strength as a skill. So if you want to improve your chin-ups, you need to get better at performing the exercise itself. Reinforcing perfect technique is all about performing rep after rep while emphasizing quality over quantity.
Training for Functional Hypertrophy
Functional hypertrophy is a strategic and balanced approach to muscle growth that also improves physical performance. The long range of motion and recruitment of multiple muscles makes it a highly effective movement. Working the scapular muscles through a strong contraction and deep stretched position also builds shoulder joint health.
How to Program the Chin-Up
The chin-up can be programmed with a variety of sets and reps. Performing the exercise at the beginning of your workouts, while you are full of energy, can help to build strength and ensure quality technique.
Here are some effective ways to start implementing chin-ups into your workouts, depending on your training goal and current abilities.
Added Weight, Low Repetition
To build upper body strength with the chin-up, complete four to six sets in the three to six rep range. Avoid muscular failure, which could compromise technique, by keeping at least two reps left “in the tank”. Because this is a relatively advanced option, only add weight when you can successfully perform multiple sets of moderate to high-reps with your bodyweight.
Bodyweight-Only, Moderate Repetition
To ensure growth in the working muscles, work with three to four sets in the six to 12 rep range. This will increase overall training volume, which is beneficial for building muscle. (4) If needed, use assistance from resistance bands or a pull-up machine to achieve the target rep range.
Modified Cluster Sets
Cluster sets are a specialized training method that can allow you to build strength by performing more total repetitions without muscular failure. It’s more commonly programmed for weight training exercises using heavy loads and low reps, but it can be applied to challenging bodyweight movements like chin-ups.
For example, if you can only perform two repetitions, you would perform cluster sets or “mini-sets” of one rep. Perform one rep, rest for 15 to 30 seconds, perform another rep, rest for 15 to 30 seconds, and perform a final rep. That entire series is one set. Take two minutes rest before repeating two more full sets.
Because one set of three cluster reps is comparable to performing three reps in a single set, you can get stronger and increase total working volume, which can lead to more muscle. Adapt the method depending on the total number of reps you can currently perform. For example, if you can do five reps of chin-ups, use three clusters of three reps (nine total reps per set) for three sets.
Chin-Up Variations
There are a few simple variations for the chin-up that you can rotate into your phases of programming even once you have mastered the execution of this exercise.
Weighted Chin-Up
The weighted chin-up is the next step in advancing your development. You can use a weight vest, a weighted belt, or you can just place a single dumbbell between your legs.
Just when you think you may have reached your growth potential, add in these bad boys and you will start to make even more impressive gains in size and strength.
Semi-Supinated Chin-Up
This variation of the chin-up adjusts your grip, ever so slightly, by rotating your thumbs roughly 45-degrees towards your face. Your hands should be angled with your pinkies slightly closer to each other and your thumbs slightly farther apart.
This grip can a smoother pulling motion because strain on the wrist and elbow joints is reduced and muscular stress on the forearm muscles is increased. This allows for a more powerful and more comfortable movement for the biceps, scapulae, and back muscles.
Sternum Chin-Up
This advanced exercise variation has a greater emphasis on your scapulae. As you pull yourself up, aim to open your chest as much as possible and finish with the middle of your chest at the bar instead of your chin.
Essentially, you will be trying to overarch through your thoracic region and adjusting your body’s leverage to better allow the force of gravity to work the scapulae and achieve a greater workload through the middle of your back.
Chin-Up Alternatives
Maybe the variations above aren’t what you need or or maybe you don’t even have a bar to use at home or in the gym. Either way, there are a few alternatives that can still help you strengthen the pulling muscles involved with a chin-up.
Underhand Pulldown
The lat pulldown machine can be a great asset in mirroring the pulling motion of the chin-up. This should be used as a primary exercise if you are unable to perform bodyweight chin-ups.
Even once you have mastered the chin-up, this exercise still has its place by allowing you to fully fatigue your back, biceps, and forearms with a variety of weights and rep ranges.
Single-Arm Kneeling Pulldown
This alternative uses the cable pulley to take the muscles through a long range of motion by kneeling on the ground, setting the pulley at its highest point, and performing the movement with a significant stretch in one side at a time.
This single arm alternative can help you in strengthening any muscular imbalances that can occur when only performing bilateral movements. A key tip for this exercise is to always start each set with your non-dominant side first so you can put as much effort as possible in developing the lagging muscles.
FAQs
What is the difference between the pull-up and chin-up?
The key point of difference between these two exercises is the hand grip used on the bar. During a pull-up, your hands are pronated (palms facing down) and your hands are supinated (palms facing up) during a chin-up.
This simple different increases the recruitment of the biceps during chin-ups, while pull-ups more predominantly activate the back muscles, with the biceps in a more secondary role with limited contribution due to leverages.
How many times per week should I perform pull-ups?
If your priority is to get stronger and build muscle, start performing chin-ups twice per week with at least 48 to 72 hours rest in between each session. (5) This will give all muscles recruited enough time to recover and be ready to tackle your next session with maximal effort.
You can however, frequently perform low-rep sets of bodyweight chin-ups as a way to practice your technique. This works well during your general warm-up for upper body workouts or workouts where your back is utilized in other exercises, such as the deadlift. Performing three to four reps will be enough to assist in mobilizing and activating the muscles that are going to be worked in that session, while also preventing any significant fatigue from occurring in those muscles.
Keep Your Chin Up
The chin-up doesn’t deserve to be stuck in second-fiddle status behind the pull-up. Chin-ups are a bodyweight staple that delivers upper body functional strength and muscular coordination. And bigger biceps are a nice perk, too. It’s time to get on the bar, flip your grip, and start chinning.
References
Schoenfeld, Brad J. PhD, CSCS, FNSCA; Contreras, Bret MA, CSCS Attentional Focus for Maximizing Muscle Development, Strength and Conditioning Journal: February 2016 – Volume 38 – Issue 1 – p 27-29 doi: 10.1519/SSC.0000000000000190
Youdas, J. W., Amundson, C. L., Cicero, K. S., Hahn, J. J., Harezlak, D. T., & Hollman, J. H. (2010). Surface electromyographic activation patterns and elbow joint motion during a pull-up, chin-up, or perfect-pullup rotational exercise. Journal of strength and conditioning research, 24(12), 3404–3414. https://doi.org/10.1519/JSC.0b013e3181f1598c
Harrison, Jeffrey. (2010). Bodyweight Training: A Return To Basics. Strength & Conditioning Journal. 32. 52-55. 10.1519/SSC.0b013e3181d5575c.
Schoenfeld BJ, Contreras B, Krieger J, et al. Resistance Training Volume Enhances Muscle Hypertrophy but Not Strength in Trained Men. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2019;51(1):94-103. doi:10.1249/MSS.0000000000001764
Schoenfeld, B. J., Ogborn, D., & Krieger, J. W. (2016). Effects of Resistance Training Frequency on Measures of Muscle Hypertrophy: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Sports medicine (Auckland, N.Z.), 46(11), 1689–1697. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40279-016-0543-8
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After a bodybuilding career that took him around the globe, International Federation of Bodybuilding and Fitness (IFBB) Pro League athlete Hadi Choopan has had one competitive goal of late. With two podium finishes in the last three Mr. Olympia contests — the only contest Choopan has participated in since December 2019 — the Iranian athlete appears ready to finally break through on the biggest stage.
On June 21, 2022, Choopan showed off a massive, ripped physique as his training for the 2022 Mr. Olympia starts to ramp up in earnest. His evident combination of raw strength, impressive muscles, and top-notch conditioning could help take him across the finish line this time around. The 2022 Mr. Olympia will take place on December 16-18, 2022, in Las Vegas, NV.
The 34-year-old Choopan has been a professional bodybuilder in some capacity for nearly a decade. He began his career by winning a silver medal at the 2012 World Bodybuilding and Physique Sports Federation (WBPF) World Championships. Choopan followed that with a gold medal at the 2013 WBPF Asia Championships. That same year he started an eventual three-peat at the WBPF Worlds (2013-2015).
Since Choopan’s initial stellar flourishes in posing trunks, it’s been full steam ahead for one of men’s bodybuilding’s top athletes. Here’s a rundown of some of his more noteworthy career results, according to NPC News Online:
While Choopan looks poised to finish his long climb to the top of the Mr. Olympia mountain, it’ll be a tall order in the Men’s Open division. At the time of this writing, the pool of competitors includes two-time reigning champion Mamdouh “Big Ramy” Elssbiay (2020-2021) as well as former winner Brandon Curry (2019). Choopan probably shouldn’t discount rising stars such as Hunter Labrada (2021 fourth place) and Nick Walker (2021 fifth place), either.
With each of these athletes attempting to put their best physique forward, a second consecutive podium finish would likely still be a noteworthy achievement. Given Choopan’s recent results, that doesn’t appear to be where the Iranian athlete wants to settle.
Notably, if the 34-year-old Choopan comes out victorious, he would fall relatively in line age-wise with two of his primary peers in Elssbiay and Curry.
Elssbiay won his first Mr. Olympia in 2020 at the age of 35. Meanwhile, Curry captured his first Olympia title in 2019 at age 36. If anything, a title for Choopan now could be slightly ahead of contemporary history. For this elite bodybuilder, it’s certainly not out of the realm of possibility.
The 2022 Mr. Olympia will occur on December 16-18, 2022, in Las Vegas, NV.
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On June 18, 2022, powerlifter Mahailya Reeves (+84kg) completed a bench press of 165 kilograms (363.8 pounds) during the 2022 Powerlifting America (AMP) Classic (Raw) Sub-Junior, Junior, and Master Nationals in Orlando, FL. Reeves’ bench press figure is an unofficial International Powerlifting Federation (IPF) Open World Record. It helped her eventually attain the AMP Sub-Junior National Title in the 84-kilogram-plus division.
Reeves wore just a lifting belt on both her top squat and deadlift reps. She wore no additional equipment for her top bench press. Here are the athlete’s top stats on those lifts from the contest:
While the AMP has an association with the IPF, it isn’t an international contest. That explains why Reeves — with her 165-kilogram (363.8-pound) bench press — doesn’t possess the official 84-kilogram-plus World Record. That mark still belongs to France’s Amélie Mierger.
Among a litany of noteworthy performances from other athletes at the 2022 IPF World Classic Powerlifting Championships, Mierger broke the 84-kilogram-plus World Record with a bench press of 163 kilograms (359.3 pounds)
Notably, in the past, Reeves has achieved better numbers on her squat, bench press, and total, respectively. Here are the athlete’s top all-time competition personal records (PR):
Mahailya Reeves | All-Time Competition PRs
Squat — 245 kilograms (540.1 pounds) | 2019 USA Powerlifting (USAPL) Raw Nationals
Bench Press — 172.3 kilograms (380 pounds) | 2022 Florida High School Athletic Association (FHSAA) Class 1A Region 2 Meet
The final result at the 2022 Powerlifting America (AMP) Classic (Raw) Sub-Junior, Junior, and Master Nationals gave Reeves her first win in a Nationals competition since 2019. Throughout her competitive career that began in January 2018, the American athlete has missed the podium just once.
Here’s a rundown of some of Reeves’ more noteworthy competition results to date:
Mahailya Reeves | Noteworthy Career Results
2019 FHSAA Florida State Finals (Raw) — First place
2019 USAPL Southeast Regionals (Raw) — First place
*2019 USAPL Raw Nationals (Raw; Teenager) — First place
2020 FHSAA Girls Weightlifting State Championships (Raw) — First place
2021 USAPL 3rd Annual Ocala Open Super Total X3 Championships (Raw) — First place
2022 FHSAA Class 1A Region 2 Meet (Raw) — First place
2022 FHSAA Girls Weightlifting State Championships (Raw) — First place
2022 AMP Classic Sub-Junior Nationals (Raw) — First place
*Reeves also competed in the Open at the 2019 USAPL Raw Nationals, where she attained third place.
At the time of this writing, Reeves has not confirmed her next competition. Much of her recent posts on her social media have understandably centered around the 2022 AMP Sub-Junior Nationals contest. With Reeves exceeding the bench press World Record twice now, she could next plan to feature on an international sanctioned lifting platform to make the figure official.
Given her overall strength and bench press prowess, it’s likely only a matter of time before Reeves makes waves again.
Featured image: @powerlifting_america on Instagram
Black seed oil is the perfect example of a medicinal whole food. It’s the cold pressed oil of the black cumin seed nigella sativa, which grows widely across Southern Europe, Western Asia and South Asia, North Africa, and the Middle East. In the majority of those regions, black seed oil has extensive traditional use as a medicine or “cure-all.”
In ancient Egypt, the black cumin seed was a primary first-line medicine against an entire host of maladies. When archaeologists unearthed King Tut’s tomb, they found traces of black seed and black seed oil—ostensibly placed there to protect him as he made his way to the underworld. The Prophet Muhammad was reported to have said that “the black seed can heal every disease, except death.”1 For thousands of years, Indian Ayurvedic medicine prescribed black seed oil to treat hypertension, high blood sugar, eczema, asthma, and general diseases of inflammation.
I’m not saying these are fully accurate statements or beliefs, but they do show the reverence these cultures had for black seed oil and indicate its prowess as a medicine. Luckily, we don’t have to rely on ancient texts as the only evidence we have. There are hundreds of studies showing the efficacy of black seed oil in humans against a wide range of health conditions. Taken as a whole, it’s an impressive body of literature.
This is the Primal way: taking heed of traditional wisdom and confirming its accuracy with modern science.
Around here, we generally prefer medicinal whole foods—herbs, seeds, spices, and the like—to isolated or synthetic pharmacological compounds for several reasons:
The synergistic compounds that exist in the whole food medicine are more likely to enhance the effects and be missing from the synthetic version.
The synthetic compound will be geared toward a specific task, a one-trick pony, while the whole food medicine will be more likely to encompass other effects both up and down the line of causality.
Whole food medicines are also foods—they contain vitamins and minerals and macronutrients that nourish us. They aren’t just medicine; they’re much more. If nothing else, this is a more efficient way to obtain medicinal effects.
Health Benefits of Black Seed Oil
Let’s explore the health effects of black seed oil. To begin with, let’s dispel some notions and prejudices we have about “seed oils.” Industrial seed oils, like corn or canola oil, are stripped of nutrients that prevent lipid degradation, undergo high-heat and chemical processing, and have no redeeming qualities to make up for the high level of omega-6 linoleic acid present in the fat. In the Primal eating plan, we eliminate these industrial seed oils.
Black seed oil is a different kind of seed oil.
It’s unrefined, so that it contains all the protective components that help the fragile fatty acids resist oxidation and prevent rancidity. 2
It’s a medical oil, not a food, so we’re not using it to make salad dressings, fry potatoes, or incorporate in processed junk food. We aren’t eating enough of it to worry about it as a major source of omega-6 fatty acids in our diet.
Unlike the industrial seed oils, black seed oil has proven benefits that justify its inclusion in our diet.
Black Seed Oil for Diabetes
In patients with pre-diabetes—bad blood glucose numbers that don’t yet qualify for full-blown diabetes—black seed oil performed as well as or better than metformin, the “gold standard” pharmaceutical for diabetes. While both metformin and black seed oil groups saw improved glucose parameters, only black seed oil patients who took 450 mg of black seed oil twice a day (less than a teaspoon) saw better lipids and lower inflammation.3
In patients with newly diagnosed type 2 diabetes (full blown), 1350 mg/day of black seed oil helped against but wasn’t as effective as metformin in improving fasting blood glucose or HbA1c. However, once again black seed oil patients enjoyed uniquely improved lipid numbers, lower fasting insulin, and lower inflammatory markers. Furthermore, metformin patients had higher liver enzymes and slightly elevated creatinine levels, while black seed oil patients did not.4 Both groups saw better body composition, including the all-important and extremely revealing waist circumference.
Seeing as how metformin has growing prominence as an all-around health-promoting prophylactic medicine for otherwise healthy people who want to live longer, black seed oil might be a more effective alternative with added benefits.
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If there’s one way most lifters can improve their training plan, it’s not about fixing their time spent training. It’s about fixing their time spent not training. Rest between sets is an extremely undervalued variable in program design.
Many lifters know that resting for a few minutes allows better recovery and lets them move heavier weights with greater intensity. On the flip, cutting the rest time short amps up the demand on the heart to test their conditioning. But what about resting briefly while also moving pretty heavy weights? That type of workout can redefine what training intensity means.
Credit: Roman Chazov / Shutterstock
One of the most effective ways to do this is to work against the clock with a programming method known as EMOM — every minute on the minute. Here’s how this high-intensity approach to training can be the key to building strength, improving technique, packing on size, and burning fat. Yep, one technique can do all that.
An EMOM workout requires you to forget what you think you know about sets, reps, and rest periods, because it builds a whole new perspective. Instead of performing one set, resting for a certain amount of time, and performing the next set, EMOM training has you performing one set every minute on the minute. Re-read that. Every minute on the minute. E.M.O.M.
Whether you download one of the countless apps that track EMOM workouts (SmartWod Timer and Interval Timer — HIIT Workouts are two you can try) or simply monitor a clock with a second hand, when the time hits 0:00, you begin your set and perform your target number of reps, whether it’s a single repetition or a set of 20. When you finish your set, you put the weights down and rest.
When the second hand hits 0:00 again, you begin your next set. Continue this sequence for the duration of the workout, typically eight to 20 minutes total. It’s essential that every set starts right on the minute.
You don’t start setting your grip and stance at 0:00 and begin your rep at 0:06. You start the lift moving at 0:00, whether you want to or not. Spoiler alert: Just a few minutes into any session, you’re not going to want to.
Credit: Mongkolchon Akesin / Shutterstock
The genius and brutality of this method is that the clock is the most unforgiving training partner you’ll ever have. It’s going to tick-tick-tick no matter how hard you’re breathing. It’s going to say, “Get up and move” whether or not your muscles are still burning. It will keep you on track and accountable.
Also, your specific rest times will change depending on the duration of your previous set. As the workout progresses and you fatigue, each set may take slightly longer as your rest periods become shorter.
For example, a set of five reps might take 20 seconds at the start of the workout, so you get 40 seconds of rest. After several minutes, however, cumulative fatigue sets in and those five reps may end up taking 25 or 30 seconds, whether the individual reps are moving slower or you’re sneaking extra breaths between reps. This means you get less rest for the next set and the workout gets more challenging as you progress.
One key, however, is to not rush through with fast, sloppy reps just to end the set sooner and sneak in more rest time. That’s counterproductive. Perform your reps properly and with control, and appreciate that the short rest periods are integral to results.
This innovative approach to training was first implemented by Olympic weightlifters as a way to build strength in technical lifts, and more recently popularized by CrossFit athletes as a way to get serious conditioning in minimal time.
Credit: xamyak / Shutterstock
EMOM training builds strength, power, and strength-endurance — the ability to maintain power output for an extended period of time. (1) Because of this endurance-related benefit, it’s often used as a conditioning or fat loss method, rather than strictly for strength-building. It also has muscle-building applications, as a way to increase training volume and stimulate growth.
Typically, EMOM sets are performed with movements like squats, deadlifts, Olympic lift variations, presses, and other multi-joint exercises for low-rep sets. One crucial programming principle is to avoid muscular failure during the workout.
Because the rest ends up being insufficient for full recovery, taking any set to failure will lead you right into a brick wall. Begin the workout with sets two or more reps shy of failure and allow the short rests to provide the difficulty. Toward the end of the workout, you’ll realize the weight was plenty.
EMOM Variations
EMOM is typically performed with one to three reps per minute for 10 to 15 minutes, but there are several very effective variations that can provide different stimuli for a variety of goals. The specific programming can be adapted to various goals. Think of EMOM as a sandbox — there are a lot of different ways to play within this protocol.
Longer workouts with heavier weights and lower reps are well-suited for building strength. Manipulating the total workout time and reps per minute will determine the results.
Varying Rep Ranges
Instead of low-rep strength building, EMOM can be used for a muscle-building workout. (2) This works well with single-joint (isolation) exercises performed for eight to 10 reps EMOM for five to 10 minutes.
Isolation exercises can be performed more quickly than heavier compound exercises, so a set of eight to 10 should take less than 30 seconds to complete. This approach keeps the pace quick and the intensity high.
Moderate to higher reps can also be used with multi-joint exercises as long as the reps don’t end up taking too long to perform. If the duration of work is too high to begin with (more than 30 seconds or so), the already precious rest time will have nowhere to go but down and your overall performance will suffer.
For example, if a set of 12 squats takes 40 seconds (which allows 20 seconds rest), after only a few minutes fatigue will naturally extend the training closer to 50 seconds and the rest drops to 10 seconds. This shifts the workout focus away from muscle-building and more towards cardiovascular conditioning.
Every 30 Seconds
Performing reps every 30 seconds may not flow as easily off the tongue — E30O30 or E30S— but it’s still an effective variation of EMOM training, particularly for drilling technique on an exercise. Performing one or two reps every 30 seconds for six to 12 minutes allows you to focus on picture-perfect form, engrain good lifting habits, and build skill as well as strength.
E30S also works well as a transition from your general warm-up into your work sets because you can achieve high-quality reps and directly prepare your joints and muscles in minimum time.
This method can also be adapted as a high-intensity conditioning drill with low to moderate reps. Performing four to six reps every 30 seconds for five to 10 minutes at the end of a workout can improve anaerobic endurance and fat-burning.
For this to be most effective, the reps must be completed quickly with enough time for rest. Explosive exercises like kettlebell swings or simple bodyweight exercises like push-ups or burpees are ideal for this type of workout.
EMOM with Different Exercises
While EMOM typically uses one exercise for the duration of the workout, you can use a different exercise each minute depending on your goals. This is an extremely efficient way to train the upper body, lower body, or even your entire body with a fast workout. Choose one exercise per body part and perform four to eight reps EMOM for 15-25 minutes.
This method allows greater recovery between each repeated exercise, more in line with traditional training, because the training stress is dispersed between multiple movements. You may get two to four minutes between sets of a single exercise, so you can attack that movement with higher intensity, but you’re still performing an exercise every minute, which keeps the overall training intensity high as well.
Because this approach requires using more equipment simultaneously, choose exercises that require little to no transition time. Free weights or cable stations can be more useful than specialized machines. If you want to use the leg press, but it’s a 15-second walk from your previous exercise, you’re spending precious time getting there.
Splitting a workout into two exercises and alternating even minutes/odd minutes is another simple and effective way to fit even more total training volume into a 10 to 20-minute workout. For example, performing squats on minutes one, three, five, seven and nine while performing push-ups on minutes two, four, six, eight, and ten.
Combining any of these EMOM variations with bodyweight exercises is a reliable go-to whenever you can’t get to a gym, you’re traveling, want a mid-day exercise break, or need a quick lunch-hour workout.
Programming EMOM for Your Goals
EMOM workouts are ideal for lifters with tight schedules because of the finite start and end time. Instead of going to the gym and hoping to be done in less than 90 minutes, you walk in knowing that you’ll be working in eight, 10, or 12-minute chunks — whatever your training plan calls for.
Credit: platinumArt / Shutterstock
All you need to do is follow the clock and you’ll get a productive session done in that given timeframe. However, EMOM training is a versatile method that can be applied to any goal.
EMOM for Strength
EMOM is also perfect for beginners or competitive strength athletes who want to drill exercise technique. Beginners benefit from repeated performance without excessive fatigue, while more experienced lifters can get acclimated to moving heavy weights under near-contest conditions, performing repeated near-maximal attempts over a given time period, while also refining technique.
This is one reason why the EMOM method was initially used by competitive weightlifters. They were able to perform explosive lifts one or two reps at a time, minute after minute after minute, while building strength, power, and crucial technique.
EMOM for Muscle
Lifters focused on increasing muscular size will benefit from EMOM workouts using moderate rep ranges, as explained above, as a way to increase training volume and trigger more muscle growth in a shorter workout. (3)
For example, doing a bench press for five sets of eight reps might take seven or eight minutes total. Doing the bench press for 8 reps EMOM for five minutes takes five minutes. Multiply that extra time across several exercises in a workout and the efficiency of EMOM becomes more clear.
EMOM for Conditioning
EMOM gained more recent popularity due to its frequent appearances in CrossFit workouts. Because EMOM may be seen as a type of interval training, it can be beneficial for cardiovascular health as well as fat loss. (4)(5)
EMOM is, fundamentally, alternating relatively short periods of high-intensity exercise with relatively short periods of rest. If you were running on a track or pedaling a bike, you’d consider that an interval workout. The stimuli and effects don’t change drastically just because you’re doing 10 kettlebell clean & presses or 15 burpees instead.
Sample EMOM Workouts
EMOM may sound like a cure-all technique that can deliver results for any lifter with any goal. That claim is a little hyperbolic, but not too far off.
Credit: Jacob Lund / Shutterstock
Implementing EMOM sessions into your program, either as standalone workouts or incorporated into more traditional training, can be a game-changer. Here are a few effective ways to start using EMOM now.
Strength-Building EMOM
Power Clean: Two reps EMOM x 10 minutes.
Squat: One rep EMOM x 12 minutes.
Flat Bench Press: Two reps EMOM x eight minutes.
Muscle-Building EMOM
Incline Dumbbell Press: Six reps EMOM x eight minutes.
Pec-Deck Flye: 12 reps EMOM x five minutes.
Push-Up: 5 reps E30S x five minutes.
Fat-Burning EMOM
15 total minutes of:
Minute One: Goblet squat 10 reps
Minute Two: Overhead press 15 reps
Minute Three: Mountain climbers 20 reps
Just One Minute
The rule used to be “do a set, rest 90 seconds, do another set.” By flipping that on its head and removing a specific rest period, EMOM training takes you from resting passively to being actively involved for the entire workout, walking the line between uncomfortable fatigue and high-performance lifting. If you were ever curious how much self-discipline you really have, go find out how you handle yourself 14 minutes and 55 seconds into a 15-minute squat EMOM workout.
References
Tufano JJ, Conlon JA, Nimphius S, Brown LE, Seitz LB, Williamson BD, Haff GG. Maintenance of Velocity and Power With Cluster Sets During High-Volume Back Squats. Int J Sports Physiol Perform. 2016 Oct;11(7):885-892. doi: 10.1123/ijspp.2015-0602. Epub 2016 Aug 24. PMID: 26791936.
González-Hernández JM, García-Ramos A, Castaño-Zambudio A, Capelo-Ramírez F, Marquez G, Boullosa D, Jiménez-Reyes P. Mechanical, Metabolic, and Perceptual Acute Responses to Different Set Configurations in Full Squat. J Strength Cond Res. 2020 Jun;34(6):1581-1590. doi: 10.1519/JSC.0000000000002117. PMID: 28700515.
Schoenfeld, Brad J et al. “Resistance Training Volume Enhances Muscle Hypertrophy but Not Strength in Trained Men.” Medicine and science in sports and exercise vol. 51,1 (2019): 94-103. doi:10.1249/MSS.0000000000001764
Ito, Shigenori. “High-intensity interval training for health benefits and care of cardiac diseases – The key to an efficient exercise protocol.” World journal of cardiology vol. 11,7 (2019): 171-188. doi:10.4330/wjc.v11.i7.171
Boutcher, Stephen H. “High-intensity intermittent exercise and fat loss.” Journal of obesity vol. 2011 (2011): 868305. doi:10.1155/2011/868305
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As the bodybuilding world starts to ramp up toward the 2022 Mr. Olympia this December, every individual step on the way will likely begin to carry more weight. The latest stop in that Mr. Olympia journey was the 2022 International Federation of Bodybuilding and Fitness (IFBB) Puerto Rico Pro League contest, which took place on June 17-19, 2022, in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Some of the more notable winners — across 10 different divisions between the men’s and women’s athletes — included Hassan Mostafa (Men’s Open) and Reshanna Boswell (Women’s Bodybuilding). With the Puerto Rico Pro being an official IFBB Pro League contest, Mostafa, Boswell, and each of the other eight winners earned automatic spots in the upcoming respective Mr. and Ms. Olympia competitions. Both will take place on December 16-18, 2022, in Las Vegas, NV.
Here’s a rundown of the Men’s Open results from the 2022 IFBB Puerto Rico Pro:
Mostafa’s victory comes on the heels of a 13th place finish at the 2021 Mr. Olympia. The Egyptian bodybuilder took some time off after that contest to return to full capacity. After showcasing his latest stellar combination of strength, muscle, and body conditioning at the Puerto Rico Pro, Mostatafa will officially make his return to bodybuilding’s most prestigious competition.
Other Men’s Winners
While each of the 10 division winners is heading to their respective Olympia competition, some other higher-finishing athletes still earned valuable Tier 4 points toward their season totals. A Tier 4 contest is the most weighted points-wise under the IFBB’s standards. Those could pay off down the line for eventual qualification to the 2022 Mr. Olympia.
Here are the results for the other men’s divisions at the 2022 Puerto Rico Pro:
In one of the more jam-packed contests of the year, many women athletes put themselves in excellent positions to be able to focus on the 2022 Ms. Olympia.
Here are the complete results for all of the women’s divisions at the 2022 Puerto Rico Pro:
Following a 15th place result at the 2021 Ms. Olympia, Boswell is undoubtedly on the hunt for a better finish at this year’s competition. With her Women’s Bodybuilding win in San Juan, Boswell now has a guarantee at a chance to put herself amongst the women’s bodybuilding elite this coming American holiday season.
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rotational exercise. Journal of strength and conditioning research, 24(12), 3404–3414. https://doi.org/10.1519/JSC.0b013e3181f1598c
For now classes are 6pm and 640pm at 2840 Wildwood st in the Boise Cloggers studio.
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