Trevor Thieme C.S.C.S.

Aside from a good sweat, theres nothing the fitness industry loves more than a great acronym. <a href="https://www.menshealth.com/fitness/a31027645/hiit-workouts-men-over-40/" id="486507c2-2ef8-3fad-a76d-99976590b15f"> HIIT </a> , <a href="https://www.menshealth.com/fitness/a19542200/what-is-delayed-onset-muscle-soreness/" id="413c83a2-c6a4-3bc5-ad8d-fc17dc49ce77"> DOMS </a> , <a href="https://www.menshealth.com/fitness/a29189561/epoc-oxygen-debt/" id="9fd44c0b-01c1-3b62-aaa0-5122a3ffc943"> EPOC </a> , <a href="https://www.menshealth.com/fitness/a27007443/time-under-tension/" id="4a0e6df2-2e44-3605-a88b-925015ffd24f"> TUT </a> , <a href="https://www.menshealth.com/fitness/a19871099/heart-rate-training-workouts/" id="d2529b81-78e0-3bfa-ab49-d0f81a989aa3"> MHR </a> , <a href="https://www.menshealth.com/fitness/a31075907/one-rep-max/" id="b42be83a-491c-3c62-a7b2-95a7e02b53e2"> 1RM </a> spend almost any time around the dumbbell rack and youll hear enough training abbreviations to make your head spin. But if your goal is to shed fat and boost athleticism, one acronym you should keep in mind is AMRAP.

It stands for as many reps (or rounds) as possible, and if youre a CrossFitter, youre likely well acquainted with this intense method of metabolic conditioning. If youre not familiar with the protocol, you can think of it as a race against the clock. The goal is to complete as many reps of a single exercise (such as the burpee) or rounds of a circuit (back-to-back sets of multiple exercises) as possible in a specific amount of time, which can range from less than 60 seconds to more than 20 minutes.

Unlike <a href="https://www.menshealth.com/fitness/a33022920/emom-workout-protocol/" id="d3494617-e691-3394-afc3-529ca522b57f"> EMOM </a> (every minute on the minute) training, recovery isnt built into AMRAP. You rest only as much as absolutely necessary (and not a second more) to bang out as many high-quality reps or rounds as possible before the clock runs out. In the process, youll shift your metabolism into overdrive and elevate your cardiorespiratory fitness.

The goal-oriented nature of AMRAP training also makes it an excellent way to gauge progress as you try to beat your previous total each time you perform a particular AMRAP protocol. That can be especially useful if you're stuck working out at home without access to a gym full of weights and you can't add more plates or progress up the dumbbell rack. But as with every form of training, the key to optimizing its effectiveness is knowing how to weave it into your program.

You can either perform a longer AMRAP routine as a self-contained workout or tack a shorter one onto an existing workout as a finisherrepeating the latter from week to week is a great way to measure progress. In theory, you can use AMRAP training for either cardio or strength training, but the fast pace, high rep nature of AMRAP lends itself much better to cardio. Plus, doing max reps for time with heavy loads is also an easy way to get injured. So keep your loads light, your reps high, and your pace fast as you shoot for a new PR each time you perform an AMRAP session.

If youre not sure where to start, check out Bobby Maximuss <a href="https://www.menshealth.com/fitness/a32022605/bobby-maximus-lower-body-no-equipment-workout/" id="e3306228-46d9-3294-a14a-820f3321bb94"> Lower Trinity Workout </a> . In just 15 minutes, youll work up a serious sweat and have your abs and legs on fire.

Your Home Training Regimen Needs AMRAP Workouts

This is Your Quick Training Tip , a chance to learn how to work smarter in just a few moments so you can get right to your workout.

How to Use AMRAP Workouts in Your Routine

No one sets out to waste time when they hit the gym, but odds are you leave plenty of precious secondsor even minuteshanging out to dry during your workouts. Even if the pandemic is preventing you from gabbing at your gyms dumbbell rack, youre likely resting far too long between sets and exercises as you surf Instagram, check email, send texts, catch up on news, swipe left or right, and generally give your phone your undivided attention if you have the habit of picking it up mid-set at home.

Heres why thats a problem: Excessive rest while training reduces the amount of metabolic stress on your muscles, undercutting a key growth stimulus.

EMOM training can help solve that. EMOM stands for every minute on the minute, and it's a protocol that requires you to perform a specific number of reps of an exercise during each minute of your workout, then resting for the remainder of the minute until the clock resets. The faster you complete your reps, the more rest you get. And don't worry if that doesn't sound like much of a challenge to youas your workout time stretches out, all the effort you expend will make every minute feel much shorter than the last.

You can tailor your EMOM workouts to focus on either endurance and cardio or strength and muscle building by adjusting the number of reps you perform (more on that in a moment), but no matter how you go about it, youll crank up your metabolic furnace and incinerate more fat from head-to-toe than you would during a more traditional weightlifting session. Plus, because youre on the clock, you wont be able to waste any time, allowing you to get more work done in less.

Your move: If youre interested in giving EMOM training a try, incorporate the protocol into your program once or twice a week.

To focus on endurance and cardio, keep your rep count high (12-plus) to minimize your rest. For strength building, keep your rep count low (five to eight) to maximize it. Dont know where to start? Do this <a href="https://www.menshealth.com/fitness/a30368642/conditioning-workout-30-minutes-emom/" id="9a742f36-51bf-3d35-aa30-c58e0b7ea820"> rope, band, and ball EMOM workout </a> to burn fat and build muscle from head-to-toe in just 30 minutes.

How to Use the EMOM Protocol for Your Workouts

This is Your Quick Training Tip , a chance to learn how to work smarter in just a few moments so you can get right to your workout.

How to Get Stronger With Every Minute of Your Workout

Guys often claim that they train like animals, attacking every rep and set with almost feral intensitybut unless youve done Animal Flow, youve likely never truly experienced beast mode.

Not familiar with Animal Flow? Youve probably stumbled across a class at your gym or yoga studio without even realizing what it was. Invented almost a decade ago by trainer <a href="https://animalflow.com/about/mike-fitch/" id="579ca8ea-2570-3da6-a6f7-57900d2b016c"> Mike Fitch </a> , this increasingly popular training style resembles a cross between yoga and Capoeira. Even though the practice almost entirely ground-based bodyweight movement, it might be exactly what you need to recharge your strength program.

Thats because Animal Flow fills a gap in many guys routines: mobility training. The workouts typically feature a series of (you guessed it) animal-inspired exercises with names like ape, beast, and crab that are linked together in a yoga-style flow. As you progress through the exercises, you move through full ranges of motion in multiple planes, developing greater coordination and body awareness as you build endurance, stability, mobility, and strength, especially in your core. Practice consistently, and youll soon find yourself moving more efficiently and powerfully both in and out of the gym.

Your move: Add an Animal Flow series to a couple of your weekly workouts, or swap out a workout entirely for a complete Animal Flow session.

Its always best to take a live class when learning a new training styleand Animal Flow will be new to most peoplebut if that isnt an option, you can find routines to perform solo anywhere with enough space to allow you to move freely (e.g., living room, backyard, etc.).

Get started with <a href="https://www.menshealth.com/fitness/a28277352/mobility-training/" id="a0693bf3-b15c-3cb8-af4e-1815484a86bc"> five must-do mobility moves </a> from the creator of Animal Flow himself, Mike Fitch.

Master Mobility With Animal Flow Training

If you want to witness a perfect squat, watch a toddler pick a toy off the ground. Instead of bending over at the waist (and toppling headfirst), youll see him keep control of his upper body as he pushes his hips back, bends his knees, and lowers his body by sitting back into the movement, dropping down until his thighs touch his calves.

For trainers, its a thing of beauty to watch, as this natural, innate movement pattern is seen far less frequently among adults. Somewhere between toddlerhood and adulthood, many of us lose the ability to perform a deep squat safely and effectively. But if youve retained the hip and ankle mobility that allows you to go ass to grass with good form, theres good reason to follow the toddlers lead.

<a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/17461391.2019.1612952?journalCode=tejs20" id="7f749c3f-3d03-3410-a279-8d647fe83a8a"> A study conducted on 53 men </a> found that the deep squat can produce greater gains in absolute and functional strength and performance than the parallel squat (i.e., thighs parallel to the ground). Still, there are those that warn against dropping below parallel, arguing that doing so increases the stress and strain on your knees. But theres not a lot of science to back that up. Indeed, the very same research mentioned above shows that the deep squat is no more dangerous for your joints than the parallel squat.

Your move: If youre blessed with above average lower body mobilitybut only IF that's the caseconsider going past parallel when you squat. Its almost always better to build strength through a full range of motion than through a partial one, as the former translates better to the real world.

Want to work your way to a deeper squat? Build up to it by honing your mobility and form without a load. <a href="https://www.menshealth.com/fitness/a28719373/squat-hold-position/" id="f795d2db-7fb2-368c-a3f7-57acbd60c10a"> Check out this guide </a> to help you on your journey. Just remember that your lowest point should be one that maintains tension in your core, glutes, and hamstringsif you're working with a load, you need to control it throughout your rep, and you shouldn't be bouncing at the bottom to stand back up.

But dont sweat it if you cant get your butt lower than your knees without falling backwards. The deep squat might have an edge over the parallel squat when it comes to building strength and power, but its only a slight one. So <a href="https://www.menshealth.com/fitness/a32576846/how-low-you-should-squat/" id="62273967-c05d-3d9e-a1e6-217cb7fe45d2"> only drop as low as you can go with good form to maximize your gains </a> while keeping yourself off the disabled list.

Why You Should Try to Squat Lower—If You Can

How Squatting Deeper Can Lead to More Gains

Its hard to imagine a more seemingly mundane exercise than the plank. After all, the move is defined by its lack of movement, requiring you to hold your body rigid, straight, and still for the duration of each set. But its also hard to think of a more challenging and effective core builder, which is why youll find it in just about every fit test and core workout youll do.

The planks power comes from its stillness. By holding your body stiff <a href="https://www.menshealth.com/fitness/a25628831/plank-exercise/" id="f8b63f41-fbc4-3393-ac3c-d8f974e014d7"> glutes and core engaged, focused on the squeeze </a> you maximize your cores time under tension, a key strength-building stimulus. Indeed, a <a href="https://journals.lww.com/nsca-jscr/Fulltext/2015/06000/Effect_of_Long_term_Isometric_Training_on.8.aspx" id="10ee67ae-f576-3a27-a394-979465fe6d38"> study </a> by Canadian researchers shows that its even more effective than dynamic abs exercises such as the curl-up and Russian twist at strengthening your core at its primary job: Supporting and stabilizing your spine.

So how long should you hold the plank to optimize your results? Assuming you arent going for the <a href="https://www.menshealth.com/fitness/a31076076/plank-hold-world-record-man/" id="e03b5016-dfb3-310c-ae83-1f44db12dd1c"> world record </a> 8 hours, 15 minutes, and 15 secondsthe advice typically ranges from 10 seconds to around two minutes. At the low end of the spectrum are <a href="https://www.menshealth.com/fitness/a19542882/truth-about-extreme-planking/" id="686b4770-efd2-3dff-ab92-7c6ea900597d"> scientists like Stuart McGill, PhD </a> , one of the worlds foremost authorities on spine biomechanics and the lead author of the above study, which had participants perform up to five sets of the plank lasting just 10 seconds. At the upper end is, well, almost everyone else. But what everyone agrees on is that whether you do multiple short sets or a few long ones, the key is to challenge your core.

Your move: Follow the advice from both ends of the spectrum, occasionally swapping out your standard longer sets of the plank for twice the number of short ones. But if you absolutely need a top-line number for your training sessions, don't exceed a plank hold for more than 60 seconds.

By peppering in short and long holds, youll inject some muscle-building, plateau-preventing variation into your core routine. Similarly, make sure youre doing more than just one type of plank. These <a href="https://www.menshealth.com/fitness/a26907827/plank-exercise-variations/" id="b2a2189a-296e-31c1-a7e6-88d3322826d6"> six plank variations </a> are a good place to start.

How Long You Should Actually Hold a Plank

Regardless of whether you have a six-pack or aspire to sculpt one, chances are you do crunches. Or situps. Or both. And you likely do them obsessively, because, well, few moves target the abs more effectively than these two exercises. But contrary to what you might have heard around the weight rack, they are not practically the same exercise. They each have their own subtletiesand you'll have slightly different outcomes depending on which you choose to do.

Thats not to say that the two moves arent similar. Both require you to start in a supine (face-up) position with your knees bent, feet flat, and fingertips touching lightly behind your ears. But the crunch is an isolation exercise. When you perform it, you raise only your head and shoulders off of the floor, engaging your <a href="https://www.menshealth.com/fitness/a29759018/rectus-abdominis/" id="dac5cc74-305b-327a-a627-8a24894dcbec"> rectus abdominis </a> (i.e., abs) almost exclusively. When you do the situp, you lift your entire torso, engaging your abs plus other core muscles, as well as your hip flexors and rectus femoris (one of the heads your quadriceps muscles).

That might make the situp seem to be the superior exercisebut theres a catch. The movement is extremely challenging to perform without rounding your lower back, and that increases the stress on your lumbar spine. As a result, trainers tend to favor the crunch over the situp in their training programs to save you the pain.

Your move: Skip the situp if you can, but dont focus exclusively on the crunch for sculpting a six-pack.

Your rectus abdominis is like every other muscle in your body. To reach its full growth and definition potentials, it needs to be worked with a variety of exercises from multiple angles. Need some inspiration? Check out <a href="https://www.menshealth.com/fitness/a18752276/best-ab-exercises/" id="8b1371a2-5ed8-3b8c-a2e2-0c2f2de32956"> 22 of the best moves to chisel your middle </a> .

The Difference Between Situps and Crunches

Yes, There Is a Difference Between Situps and Crunches

No matter how often you switch up your training, workouts can still feel monotonous. Even if you regularly weave in new exercise variations, youre likely still performing the same fundamental moves with the same basic tools (dumbbells, barbells, kettlebells, or bands) in the same ol space. Mace training can help change thatand trigger fresh gains to boot.

If youre unfamiliar with the medieval-looking strength tool, it resembles the weapon youve seen knights wield in history books and Game of Thrones: A long metal handle with a heavy metal ball at the end. Typically forged in steel, the secret to the maces effectiveness isnt its weight (the heaviest ones are only around 40 pounds), but rather the distribution of that weight, which is concentrated at its head.

As you swing the mace around your body, brandishing it like an ancient warrior in the heat of battle, youll quickly realize how hard it is to control. Its uneven weight distribution will force your core to work overtime and challenge all of the smaller stabilizing muscles throughout your body. And because the implement lends itself to dynamic, high-repetition, full-body movements, its an extremely efficient tool for building power, mobility, and muscular endurance.

Your move: If youre lucky enough to belong to a gym that has macesor savvy enough to have them in your own fitness arsenaladd them to your workouts once or twice a week to start reaping their total-body benefits. You can use them in place of dumbbells to increase instability during classic moves such as the squat and lunge, but the mace really comes alive with rotational and swinging movements.

Need some inspiration? Here are <a href="https://www.menshealth.com/fitness/a19545855/exercises-with-mace/" id="ff7bd8cc-4074-34e7-ad4d-0030bd41fda2"> 16 exercises you can do with a mace </a> . Just make sure your grip is solid and you have plenty of space around youand keep in mind that the closer your hands are to its base, the more challenging the movement will become.

Why Guys Are Swinging Steel Maces to Work Out

With gyms closing and stay at home orders going into effect across the country due to the coronavirus pandemic, subscriptions to streaming online workout services are skyrocketing. But if you find yourself going stir crazy, you can still take your socially-distanced sweat session outdoors, which is a smart move anywayespecially if you live near a beach.

Sure, the fresh air and natural beauty will do your mind and body good, but the real advantage lies underfoot. If youve ever tossed around a football at the beach, you know how hard it is to move around on sand. It has much more give than harder surfaces like asphalt, grass, and dirt, and while that softness reduces the impact on your body, it also requires you to put more effort into every step. Indeed, a <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11905936" id="d2150520-346b-3401-a0e8-f7cdace5282b"> small study by Australian researchers </a> found that the energy expended exercising on sand is up to 1.6 times greater than that of exercising on grass.

Plus, because sand is inherently unstable, the smaller stabilizing muscles throughout your bodybut especially in your legshave to work overtime to keep you on your feet. The result: More calories burned and a better total-body workout than you can get on firmer ground.

Your move: If youre in the mood for cardio, head to your nearest beach and either leave your shoes in the car or keep them on as you work up a sweat (the above study showed similar metabolic benefits to running shod and barefoot on sand). The closer you are to the water, the firmer the sand will be, and the easier your run will become, so keep that in mind as you manage your pace and fatigue.

And dont limit your sand training to aerobic exercise. The same instability that makes running tougher will also make for a more challenging strength session. Need some inspiration? All you need is a towel for this <a href="https://www.menshealth.com/fitness/a19537317/beach-interval-workout/" id="05af75a4-6b21-310d-aebe-fe64f4d5cfda"> fat-incinerating bodyweight workout </a> .

Why Your Next Outdoor Workout Should Be on Sand

Shaped like a crescent moon and inspired by the goat-and-sheep-hefting prowess of shepherds, the Bulgarian bag is essentially a re-engineered sandbag. Instead of containing a single bladder of sand, they're usually filled with individually wrapped sand packets and padded with wool to create a solid, curved (typically goat leather) sack thats more stable than a traditional duffel-shaped sandbag. The tool is also outfitted with several different handles and straps that make it ideal for its intended purpose: Performing explosive, full range of motion exercises that can help you build functional strength and power from head to toe.

Your move: Weave Bulgarian bags into your workouts a couple of times a week if you have access to themor want to fork out the money to buy your own (be sure get a couple of different weights to challenge different muscle groups).

You can use them to perform classic exercises such as the squat and deadlift, but because the weight of each bag is set (i.e., you cant increase the load like you can with a barbell), they typically work best for more dynamic moves such as the <a href="https://www.menshealth.com/uk/building-muscle/g752282/the-best-bulgarian-bag-workout/" id="0c83da18-248f-36a7-a5c1-f98b4c6e147e"> side swing </a> and the <a href="https://www.menshealth.com/uk/fitness/a758702/swing-your-core-into-gear/" id="7dcfb254-1cac-3bdd-a3f7-db1c11571498"> halo-to-arm throw </a> .

But also dont hesitate to get creative with the tools. Hold one securely across your upper back and shoulders during plyometric moves such as the jump squat and split jump; drag it back-and-forth laterally beneath you during the plank; hug it to your chest as you perform the walking lunge. No matter how you work the Bulgarian bag into your routine, youll benefit from the variety it offers. And all of that swinging and rotating will pay off in a flatter, stronger, more chiseled core.

Before there were dumbbells and barbells, strongmen built muscle by lifting whatever heavy objects they could get their hands onlogs, large rocks, barrels of ale, even live animals. If your gym is edgy enough, youll have access to strength tools inspired by those ancient odd objects, including Atlas stones, water kegs, and perhaps most curious of all, Bulgarian bags.

How Bulgarian Bags Can Help You Get a Killer Workout

Strength training should never be easy, but even when youre lifting heavy, some parts of a move will naturally feel easier than others. You'll notice this when youre approaching full arm extension in the bench press, or nearing the starting position in the squat. The top of these movements is when the tension eases during most exercises, when the target muscle is reaching full contraction. But if you can eliminate that reprieveand keep constant tension on the muscle throughout each repyou can double down on your gains.

Variable resistance training (VRT) is one way to do that. If youve ever seen someone add resistance bands or chains to a barbell in the gym, youve witnessed VRT. At the bottom of the movethe toughest part for most guysthe bands or chains offer little resistance, but as you push past that sticking point, the bands will stretch and chain links will lift off the floor, offering progressively greater resistance.

VRT might seem a bit masochistic while youre doing it, but by increasing your target muscles time under tension, youll maximize a key growth stimulus. Whats more, the progressive resistance offered by the bands or chains will force you to push hard all of the way through each rep, leading to enhanced power development.

A <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23669815" id="63cdf9cf-ee10-34f8-ae80-17b85872d8ea"> small study showed </a> that you can reap the rewards of VRT by incorporating it into your program just once per weekas long as you go about it correctly. If youre attaching bands to a bar, make sure that you anchor them securely to the bottom of a squat or bench rack, and always err on the side of using too little resistance rather than too much.

Also, <a href="https://www.menshealth.com/fitness/a30574506/spotter-how-to/" id="d98fb8b8-2a3e-3808-ac6d-313da2561f2f"> use a spotter </a> , as you should whenever youre lifting heavy or attempting a new loaded exercise. And give it some timeVRT will feel awkward at first, but once you start greasing the groove, the strength and power gains will come quickly.

Why You Should Add Bands and Chains to Your Lifts

How Bands and Chains Can Make You Even Stronger

Most people are familiar with smelling salts for their intended usereviving fainting victimsbut if you ever watch a powerlifting competition, youll see a second application: as a stimulant. At least a few of the athletes will hold a capsule to their nose right before a big lift, inhale deeply, and then shift immediately into wild-eyed beast mode as they attempt a seemingly superhuman feat of strength.

Smelling salts work for powerlifters for the same reason they awaken the unconscious. When you sniff a smelling salt, youre inhaling a small amount of ammonia gas, which irritates the membranes of your nose and lungs, eliciting an <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2579444/" id="ea892c0a-7d91-3ee6-af88-68caef53375f"> inhalation reflex </a> . That reflex triggers an increase in your breathing rate, which causes your heart rate to jump. That, in turn, stimulates your bodys fight-or-flight response, causing the release of adrenaline, a hormone that enhances gross motor skills (like lifting) and causes an acute uptick in focus and alertness. In short, it turbocharges the body.

That all happens in the blink of an eyeand the performance boost lasts only slightly longer, which is why youll notice powerlifters wait until right before they grip the bar to crack their ammonia capsule. So should you follow their lead during your own big lifts?

You might consider it if youre attempting a <a href="https://www.menshealth.com/fitness/a31075907/one-rep-max/" id="7c6b21af-a460-3ebb-a3a9-57dbb6f14b57"> one rep max </a> , but dont make a habit of using smelling salts during your regular workouts. While they can deliver an almost instantaneous strength-performance boost, they can also reduce fine motor skills. That means they might negatively affect your form, and form is everything in the gymespecially if you want to optimize your gains and remain injury-free.

Skip the smelling salts in favor of caffeine, which <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5839013/" id="3b7bee79-f97a-3d9a-a876-585eb7c24cfc"> studies </a> show can have a profound effect on strength and power generation. Creatine is another good option. It can take up to a month to build up to sufficient levels in your system, but once it does, it can help you bang out more heavy reps and recover faster between sets.

Why Weightlifters Huff Smelling Salts Before Big Lifts

Some of the fittest guys in the gym typically share a few things in common: Theyre incredibly lean, their muscles stand out like they were chiseled from marble, and they have thick veins snaking along their arms and legs like jungle vines.

That last attribute is known as vascularity, and its a clear sign that youre strong as hellor at least that you have good genetics and a remarkably low body fat percentage, as those are the most important variables when it comes to how visible your veins are.

Youll likely only notice your veins bulging when you lift weights, move heavy furniture, or perform some other kind of sustained strength challenge. Thats because when you do repetitive, strenuous, physical work, your muscles become engorged with blood, and that swelling (a.k.a. <a href="https://www.menshealth.com/fitness/a19520337/muscle-pump-builds-size-and-strength/" id="153980a4-b4e4-3c2d-a110-f941615f0a2e"> pump </a> ) pushes your veins closer to the surface. But youll only see them if your body fat percentage is in the low double digits, and theyll only stand out like swollen garden hoses if your body fat percentage is in the single digits.

Thats why the veins of competitive bodybuilders are so prominentthe athletes have whittled their body fat percentage down to eight percent or lower. Youll also notice that, just like the guys in your gym, some bodybuilders seem to have greater vascularity than others. Thats not because of how they trainits genetic. Some people naturally have more veins closer to the surface of their skin than others. Before you make vascularity your main training goal, remember that you might not have that type of body, and that's okay. You should always keep your goals within reason, since no one person is the same as another, and don't take drastic steps to cut your body fat unless you have a specific plan with help from fitness and health professionals.

That said, how you go about your training can influence the degree to which your veins stand out. Here's what you need to know to try to maximize the effect yourself.

Youre move: To make your veins bulge during your workout, make like a bodybuilder and <a href="https://www.menshealth.com/fitness/a19520337/muscle-pump-builds-size-and-strength/" id="2d526ff2-bb74-322b-a89d-41f004419db6"> chase the pump </a> with high (15 to 20) rep sets and other training protocols that increase your muscles time under tension.

Lifting in this way wont expand the network of veins beneath your skinas explained above, thats written in your DNAbut <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/285754036_The_Muscle_Pump_Potential_Mechanisms_and_Applications_for_Enhancing_Hypertrophic_Adaptations" id="7dd08a22-00a4-3976-a11d-69fca49a5264"> research </a> shows that this style of training can have another, even greater benefit: enhanced muscle growth.

How to Train for Vascularity to Make Your Muscles Pop

When well-developed, this teardrop-shaped quadriceps muscle bulges just above the knee on the inside of the thigh. Bodybuilders love it because it lends a powerful topography to the upper leg. Cyclists love it for the downward force it helps them drive into each pedal stroke. And you should give it more love in every workout because it will make you stronger and more stable in just about every lower body exercise you do.

Like the other three muscles of the quadriceps group (vastus lateralis, vastus intermedius, and rectus femoris), the vastus medialis runs the length of the femur and functions to extend the knee. But heres what makes it stand out: The muscle is the most important knee extensor during the last few degrees of extension. That means it takes the lead during the final push in power-driven, lower-body movements such as running, jumping, and cycling.

The vastus medialis is also critical for stabilizing the kneecap, to which its attached. Thats another reason to give this key quad muscle some extra attention in your workouts: Strengthening it can help reduce your risk of knee injuries, which are among the most common in the weight room. Need a third? Having a vastus medialis that bulges like a second knee will mark you as certified badass.

Your move: Make sure your weekly routine is peppered with <a href="https://www.menshealth.com/fitness/a27257795/barbell-back-squat/" id="dc8ac97f-1eaa-3571-a58c-defbd3daa592"> squat </a> , <a href="https://www.menshealth.com/fitness/a28195034/lunges-exercise/" id="c6cbf03c-639e-3f75-aba8-603eedb509d1"> lunge </a> , and <a href="https://www.menshealth.com/fitness/a30121035/step-up-exercise/" id="8052ed49-4bf6-3ab2-ae6c-c38dc9737978"> step up </a> variations, all of which will activate all four quadriceps muscles, including the vastus medialis.

But when performing the exercises, make sure you move through a full range of motion. The vastus medialis reaches peak engagement when the leg is almost fully extended, so if you want to build it up, you need drive forcefully to the top of each rep.

The Muscle You Need to Train to Make Your Legs Pop

Unless youre a bodybuilder or cyclist, you likely dont know the vastus medialis by name. But you almost certainly know the muscle by sight, especially if you're all about leg day.

Gyms are filled with all types of barsOlympic bars, Swiss bars, <a href="https://www.menshealth.com/fitness/a19527358/how-the-trap-bar-deadlift-compares-to-the-straight-bar/" id="2b7048d5-e2c9-353f-a4c6-6376a64794ba"> trap bars </a> , EZ curl bars, and if you're lucky and fancy enough, smoothie bars. But perhaps the most curious one is the <a href="https://www.roguefitness.com/sb-1-rogue-safety-squat-bar" id="5fbdae07-a35a-33b9-ad28-e4f984bd2b4f"> safety squat bar </a> . You might have seen one collecting dust near the squat rack. The implement resembles a yoke, and while many powerlifters swear by it, it often goes unused by regular gym-goers, because, well, it looks intimidating despite its welcoming name.

Use it anyway. If your gym has one, it can be a highly effective way to switch up your routineespecially if you have poor shoulder mobility or frequently suffer low back pain.

Unlike a <a href="https://www.menshealth.com/fitness/a26291679/barbell-workouts/" id="b8e89571-33bb-324a-a00a-3d5a5f177afc"> typical Olympic barbell </a> , a safety squat bar has handles that extend from a central padded harness, allowing you to grip the bar in front of you rather than out to your sides. That change in arm position can reduce shoulder strain. The camber of the bar also shifts the load forward, allowing you to maintain a more upright posture, similar to a front squat. The result: less stress on your lower back.

In short, theres a reason why its called a safety squat barits ideal for working around upper body injuries and mobility issues. But <a href="http://article.sapub.org/10.5923.j.sports.20180805.01.html" id="84c90045-bcb4-32e2-adeb-88313fe46a20"> research </a> also shows that it can be just as effective as an Olympic bar for building lower body strength and power.

Your move: If you have niggling back pain or tweaky shoulders, make the safety squat bar your new go-to squat tool. But you should also add it to your routine if your shoulders and lower back are perfectly healthy.

Initially, youll likely have to drop down in weight as you master the slightly different movement pattern required by bars unique load placement. But recognize that awkwardness for what it is: a new challenge that will trigger fresh gains.

Build a Strong Lower Body With Safety Bar Squats

Most people wouldnt snowboard in cycling shoes or rock climb in surfing booties, but glance around the weight room in many big box gyms and youll see the majority of folks lifting in running shoes (and <a href="https://www.menshealth.com/fitness/a27321351/work-boots-gym/" id="d2624fcb-8111-398f-a9c1-a17d51a40b80"> in some ridiculous cases, work boots </a> ). In all these scenarios, the consequences of using the wrong footwear for the job are the same: A decrease in performance and an increase in injury risk.

In the case of strength training in running shoes, the problem comes from the raised heel. Unlike four-legged animals, us bipeds didnt evolve to stand or move about solely on the balls of our feet. Were strongest, most powerful, and most stable when our entire foot is aligned, so when you elevate your heel above your toes, both your ankle mobility and overall stability take a hit.

Thats why zero-drop shoes can make such a difference in the gym. In shoe parlance, drop refers to the angle between your heel and your toes, so zero-drop shoes have just thatzero angle. Your heels and toes are level, just like they would be if you were hoofing around in bare feet ( <a href="https://www.menshealth.com/fitness/a26514114/barefoot-weight-training/" id="84c1b930-1690-3d42-ab5e-05ee7ff95542"> which is also an option, in the right conditions </a> ). Zero-drops take some getting used to if your feet and legs are conditioned to raised-heel shoes, but many people who switch notice a boost in performance right away, especially in exercises that require good ankle mobility, such as the squat. (For multi-joint Olympic lifts like cleans and snatches, though, you'll want an even firmer raised platform to help you keep the proper upright posture, so <a href="https://www.menshealth.com/fitness/a19530120/best-weightlifting-shoes/" id="fc6535f5-646d-3783-a74d-0e7f78ae409e"> opt for weightlifting shoes </a> if possible.)

Your move: If youre still lifting in running shoes or basketball kicks, ditch them for training shoes, which is the common name for zero-drop shoes that are specifically designed for strength trainingor the favorite shoe of powerlifters, the Converse Chuck Taylor. If youre someone who also likes to pound the pavement, you might also consider switching to cushioned zero-drop running shoes, which many elite coaches and athletes believe can help restore natural running mechanics and ultimately reduce the risk of injury, although science has yet to bear out those claims.

Zero-drop running shoes typically require a longer adjustment period than training shoes, so if you decide to go that route, dont commit to them entirely right away. Keep your traditional raised-heel running shoes for a while, alternating between them and your new zero-drops each workout for a few months until your body adjusts. And if that doesnt happen (i.e., your zero-drops just never start to feel comfortable), dont force the issueevery body is different, and if yours prefers a slightly raised heel, run with it.

Why You'd Want to Train in Zero-Drop Shoes

Why Zero-Drop Shoes Could Be the Key to Improving Your Lifts

With all of the attention paid to the abs, youd think that muscle, the <a href="https://www.menshealth.com/fitness/a29759018/rectus-abdominis/" id="dac5cc74-305b-327a-a627-8a24894dcbec"> rectus abdominis </a> , would be the cornerstone of a powerful core. But there are other muscles that can make an even stronger claim to that title, including the ones flanking your abs on either side of your torso: your obliques.

Extending from your hips to your ribcage, your obliques are not one, but two pairs of muscles. The external obliques are closest to the surface and are the largest of all of the abdominal muscles. Lying directly beneath them are the internal obliques. The fibers of these two muscles run perpendicular to each other, and they work together to bend and rotate your torso from side-to-side, as well as to flex it forward, as youd do during a situp.

But perhaps the most important function of the obliques is to also resist those same movements to provide spinal support and stability, which not only protects your back, but also facilitates the transfer of power from your lower to your upper body. And thats where many guys go wrong when training these critical core musclesthey flex and rotate their torsos with exercises such as the side bend and the bicycle crunch, but they dont perform bracing exercises that emphasize anti-movement.

Your move: Hit your obliques from all angles with exercises that challenge each of their primary functions. The hip-up, half-kneeling cable chop, and <a href="https://www.menshealth.com/fitness/a28772400/side-plank-obliques/" id="d463db60-8a02-31c1-a8c4-ed07636f7398"> side plank </a> are all good options. So are offset (uneven load) and unilateral (one-sided) exercises such as the <a href="https://www.menshealth.com/fitness/a29007183/farmers-walk-exercise-form/" id="cba26bac-5059-3be5-a7b5-9a19ffacfa04"> single-arm farmers carry </a> and the <a href="https://www.menshealth.com/fitness/a29860071/half-bench-press-single-arm-press/" id="54d1193f-46d4-3aaf-a409-52b5375ea2f3"> single-arm bench press </a> .

Just be sure keep the balance of you <a href="https://www.menshealth.com/fitness/g19545807/best-oblique-exercises/" id="61d69f82-6460-30aa-af57-b31d27b3d4c0"> oblique exercises </a> tipped in favor of those that resist movement, as those are the ones that will hit your obliques the hardestand lead to the greatest increases in strength and power.

Your Obliques Are the Key to a Stronger Core

The Muscles You Need to Train for a Stronger Core

A perfectly executed overhead press is what many trainers refer to as a unicornsomething rumored to exist but rarely seen. Most people lack the shoulder mobility to perform the movement properly, so they crane their necks and arch their backs in an effort to press the load straight overhead. In the process, they also increase the stress on their shoulders and multiply their risk of injury.

Enter the landmine press, an overhead pressing exercise that offers similar muscle-building benefits with less strain on the shoulders.

The setup is simple: Load one end of a barbell and place the other in a landmine platform (a metal base typically shaped like a home plate) or the corner of two walls (your gym will appreciate it if you wedge the bar into a towel to avoid damage). Grip the loaded end in one or both hands in front of your chest, brace your core, square your stance with your feet shoulder-width apart, lean your entire body forward slightly, and press the bar up and away from you at an angle until your arms are straight.

That angle is what minimizes the stress on your shoulders, which youll work along with your obliques, upper pecs, and scapular stabilizers.

Your move: If you cant get your biceps next to your ears in the traditional overhead press without contorting your body, do the landmine press while you work on increasing your <a href="https://www.menshealth.com/fitness/a26090637/shoulder-workout-mobility/" id="177ef179-e50d-3cbb-a691-44f67cbf5527"> shoulder mobility. </a> But even if you can execute the overhead press with perfect form, still add the landmine press (or any of its <a href="https://www.menshealth.com/fitness/a19548458/landmine-workout/" id="fdaf9a55-c3dd-3a09-af44-98383e916807"> variations </a> ) to your program.

Why? Because its an underappreciated, underutilized exercise that many top athletes use to enhance upper body strength and power, and by following their lead, youll build bolder shoulders even faster.

How to Press Overhead Without Shoulder Pain

There are lots of muscles that guys tend to overlook in their workoutsthe <a href="https://www.menshealth.com/fitness/a27041589/brachialis-muscle/" id="b5eb15dd-3c10-3211-a8a5-ba88ed4239a2"> brachialis </a> , rhomboids, hip adductors, gluteus medius and minimus to name a few)but their six-pack isn't one of them. If anything, most people skew in the other direction, hammering their cores iconic frontman with a frequency and determination that borders on obsessionwhich is one of the reasons why so many of them find sculpting the classic washboard abs look so elusive.

To work your abs more effectively, you need to understand how its structured and how it functions. Running along the front of the body from the sternum to the pubic bone, the rectus abdominis (a.k.a. abs) is a sheet of muscle thats divided into sections by tendons. You engage it every time you flex your lumbar spine to bring your ribs and pelvis closer together (think: crunch or sit up), and those divisions are what give the muscle a segmented six-pack appearance when you build it up.

Heres the secret to doing that: Work the rectus abdominis like you would any other muscle in your body. Many guys dont. They hit their abs far too often, with too many reps of the same few moves, and they believe that they can strengthen different sections of it (e.g., lower and upper) with different exercises (e.g., leg raises and crunch). You cant. It doesnt matter whether you do a leg raise or a crunch or a hollow holdyoull work the whole muscle from top to bottom every time.

Your move: <a href="https://www.menshealth.com/fitness/a18752276/best-ab-exercises/" id="fca439ab-6e11-3814-a6ec-c492fdef5ef0"> Target your abs </a> two or three times a week (but no more than that) with a variety of moves that hit it from multiple angles. Use a load whenever possible to follow the same progressive overload principles you'd use on other muscle groups.

You also want to make sure that youre not doing more than 15 to 20 reps per set. So if youre currently banging out 30 reps per set of the crunch, progress to a variation that challenges you to complete no more than 12 per set with good form.

Train Your Six-Pack By Focusing On This Muscle

The Muscle You Need to Train to Make Your Six-Pack Pop

If youve ever hit a training plateau, you know the importance of regularly switching up your routine. But change doesnt always have to be drastic. Sure, swapping out tired exercises for new ones can trigger fresh gains, but sometimes all it takes to break out of a rut is making one or two small tweaks, such as altering the width of your grip during bar exercises.

Take the bench press, for example. Most guys place their hands just beyond shoulder-width on the barbell, and in general, that delivers the best results, hammering your pecs while working your triceps. But if you spread your hands just a few inches wider, youll shift even more of the emphasis to your pecs. Moving your hands closer together has the opposite effect, increasing the demand on your triceps while putting your pecs into more of a supporting role.

Changing your grip-width during pulling exercises, such as rows and pullups, has a similar effect. Going wide focuses more on your posterior delts and upper back muscles, including your traps and rhomboids, while using a narrow grip forces your lats and biceps to work harder.

Your move: If your training program has grown stale and your results have slowed, changing your grip-width is one minor tweak you can use to hit the refresh button. Other training tweaks include altering your lifting stance (e.g., going from traditional to a <a href="https://www.menshealth.com/fitness/a29608857/sumo-stance-weightlifting/" id="9bb35659-ec12-3c57-af93-9a83a80218d3"> sumo </a> in the squat and deadlift), changing your lifting pace, and altering your grip orientation in dumbbell moves.

But heres the caveat to playing around with your grip-width during bar exercises: The wider it is, the greater the stress on your shoulders will be. So if you have a history of shoulder issues or feel any shoulder discomfort when using a wide grip, keep your hand placement shoulder-width or narrower.

Change Your Grip Width to Change Your Workout

How Changing Your Grip Width Can Change Your Whole Workout

At its most basic level, building muscle is pretty simple. Lift something heavy, lift it often, and over time, youll begin to stretch the limits of your shirtsleeves. But while most guys understand the basics to explain what they need to do to bulk up, they dont understand the underlying processand having that understanding can make all the difference when it comes to maximizing their gains.

When you challenge yourself in the weight room, you stress your muscles, and that stress causes microscopic tears, damaging your muscles on the cellular level. A key part of your bodys response to this microtrauma is the synthesis of new proteins, which are used to not only heal the damage, but also to make your muscles larger and stronger, so they can better handle the stress of working out.

To optimize muscle growth, therefore, you need to optimize muscle protein synthesis (MPS), and to do that, two things need to happen. First, you have to create enough muscle damage to spur repair and adaptation (but not so much that you overwhelm your bodys ability to recover). And second, you need to have plenty of raw materials (in this case, amino acids) on hand for when your body shifts MPS into high gear post-workout.

Your move: Lift to technical failure (the point where you cant do another rep without sacrificing proper form) in most of your sets. <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22289911" id="488efb4f-a248-3ace-ae70-dceea3233549"> Research </a> shows that when it comes to stimulating MPS, it doesnt much matter how many reps you do per set as long as you do them to failure.

Also, <a href="https://jissn.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/1550-2783-10-5" id="c52d72c5-6a60-3d03-a640-de20e1113020"> eat a protein-rich meal or snack every four to six hours </a> throughout the day. That will ensure that you never shortchange your results by running short on amino acids.

Why You Need Protein to Make Muscle Gains

How Your Body Breaks Down Protein to Build Muscle

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