Want to learn how to squat? Understand how different squats can help you reach your goals? Clean up your stance? Be able to drop it low without hurting yourself? This, and the answers to all your squat questions can be found here… This is not meant as a straight read-through (although you are more than...Read More

Most people grasp the main technique points of squatting rather quickly. That is, they initiate a squat by reaching their hips back slightly, “spread the floor apart” on the way down, and “drive the ground away” to stand back up; there are other technique points of course, but those are the big ones. Sometimes though,...Read More

Regardless of whether you’ve squatted with a barbell thousands of times, or haven’t done it a single time, this blog will give you some helpful tips for squatting with a barbell. Squatting with a barbell may seem intimidating to learn if you have no experience, but it doesn’t have to be. While there are things...Read More

The deadlift is sometimes claimed to be one of the simpler barbell lifts, because It’s just “picking something up off the ground.” But, in a way, this does a disservice to the complexity and skill component of the lift. One of the biggest mistakes people make when learning to deadlift with a barbell is… learning...Read More

The bench press is one of the most popular exercises around. It’s hard to walk into a commercial gym without being asked the famous question, “How much ya bench?” This popularity isn’t without good reason because, assuming it’s a good fit for the person who does it, it can be a great exercise. Although it...Read More

Let’s be honest—knowing what weights to use in the gym can be really confusing.  Should we test our strength and then build everything off of those numbers?  Well, what about the exercises we didn’t test, because we couldn’t possibly test them all, right?  Or what if we felt great the day we tested, but crappy...Read More

Is jogging on a treadmill for 5-10 minutes enough for a warm-up? I mean, you’re physically getting warm and stuff, but is that good enough? Unfortunately, it’s not. Although literally making our bodies warm is part of a quality warm-up, it’s only one part. A good warm-up prepares us to handle the workout we’re about...Read More

Would you like to know about a secret “hack” in the fitness world that easily and instantly sheds pounds of body fat, or adds lean muscle mass? So would I! But, since we’re in the real world and that doesn’t exist, how would you like to learn about a method of training that helps you...Read More

When you think of the word “power,” what words pop into your head? Odds are that you thought of words like fast, strong, explosive, etc., and you’d be onto something. Or maybe you pictured things like a cheetah chasing its prey, or Usain Bolt running the 100 meter dash. Those are good examples of power...Read More

“Are crunches and sit-ups the best way to train the core?”   I’ve received that question a fair amount over the years, and the simple answer is… nope!  At BSP NOVA we rarely, if ever, program either of those exercises because there are more beneficial ways to train the “core”.  Sure, sit-ups and crunches use...Read More