🏋️ the 10 worst exercises for your bodybuilding routine

Before we start: Today’s BarBend Newsletter is presented by AIRWAAV. Click here to find out how the AIRWAAV Performance Mouthpiece can boost your training sessions.

Here’s what’s on deck today:

• A new World’s Strongest Man is crowned in Myrtle Beach!

• Karlos Nasar’s record-breaking day at the European Weightlifting Championships.

• 10 of the worst exercises for your bodybuilding routine.

And we get to all of this (and more!) in fewer than 600 words. How’s that for efficiency?

2023 WSM Results

Hooper Reigns Supreme

Heavy lies the crown, even upon the strongest head in the world. On Sunday, Canadian strongman Mitchell Hooper donned that crown when he won the 2023 World’s Strongest Man competition. The 27-year-old’s hard-fought victory capped off an exhilarating weekend of strength in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. (Check out the full leaderboard here.)

Hooper’s win also confirmed what many fans had spent the better part of the last year speculating about: He is officially the next big thing in strongman. To ascend from being a last-minute replacement pick in 2022 (where he finished a commendable eighth) and then clinching the overall title on his second appearance is nothing short of extraordinary.

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Weightlifting

Nasar’s Virtuoso Performance

Karlos Nasar is only 18 years old and has his entire weightlifting career ahead of him. But he’s wasting no time dominating the sport right now.

During last week’s European Weightlifting Championships, the Bulgarian dynamo logged four 89-kilogram division World Records with one 221-kilogram (487.2-pound) clean & jerk. They were divided between Junior and Senior marks. He even recorded a Junior World Record snatch of 174 kilograms (383.6 pounds)

We cannot emphasize this enough: The young man is 18 years old. And he might already be weightlifting’s brightest young star. That’s bonkers.

Training Tips

Trim the Fat From Your Workouts

We hate to be the bearers of bad news, but not every lift in your workout gives you the gains you want. Some, in fact, could be holding you back from your goals, leaving you wondering why you aren’t making progress as fast as possible.

What might those lifts be? You better bet we’ve got the lowdown. From cable squats to good mornings, we’ve broken down 10 lifts worth potentially cutting out of your training and what to replace them with.

Everything Else

Mat Fraser’s New Gym Digs

• CrossFit legend Mat Fraser has a massive new CrossFit gym for his HWPO squad. Take a look at what’s essentially an amusement park for fitness junkies.

• Jamal Browner logged a ridiculous conventional deadlift PR that you’ve gotta see.

• If you’re looking for a little assistance with your leg workouts, here are some of the best knee sleeves available.

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