⚠️ 3 leg day exercises you can’t skip

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Welcome to The BarBend Newsletter! Here’s what’s going on in today’s edition:

• 3 leg exercises to keep you on track

• Avoid these common bench press mistakes

• Dominate your calf training, whatever your level of experience

Exercises

Leg Day Mayhem

Women’s Physique icon Dana Linn Bailey has looked great for a long time now. While part of this is a product of her rigorous and disciplined diet plan, another huge component is her thoughtful approach to exercise selection.

These three leg exercises are her go-to muscle-building tools when a lower-body training day comes around.

Never one to miss a workout in general, DLB goes one step further and recommends never skipping out on any of her favorite leg day staples. Follow Bailey’s lead and head to the front of the line to get into the exclusive Leg Day club with these essential exercises.

A Message From Hydrow

Welcome to the Best 20 Minutes of Your Day

Your day is packed between meetings, shuttling kids, trying to prep clean meals, while hopefully squeezing in quality time with friends and family.

Somewhere in there, you've got 20 minutes.

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Training

Press Pass

The bench press is one of those things that can be as technical as you want to make it. Depending on your goals, you don’t exactly need a Master’s degree in benching, but these four mistakes will ruin your day and halt your gains no matter how many plates you pack onto the bar.

“Benching like a powerlifter” has been advice used by bodybuilders for years now, partly for the extra load it allows you to use and partly for the added safety built into it. Getting in touch with basics like grip position and proper breathing will both make your upper body training more enjoyable and keep you pain-free for longer.

Hit up the article below and discover which errors are robbing you of increased benching glory.

Workouts

Stubborn No More

In the world of bodybuilding, you have no good excuse to not train a muscle. This idea holds true almost exclusively, with one exception. If there were an Overton window of neglected musculature, the calves would probably fall into that category as the only part of your body that you “just can’t grow.”

Some chalk their muscular misfortune up to genetics, while others decry their calves as simply too stubborn to add size to, as though their calves were sentient and actively fighting back. 

Even if your calves did have a mind of their own or were resistant to the same mechanisms of hypertrophy that work just fine for your chest, back, or shoulders, you still need to put time into calf work if you want a proportional and aesthetically pleasing physique. 

This article will break down three different calf workouts by difficulty and dig into the science behind the conversation around calf training so you can make the most of your time in the gym.

Amazon Prime Day 2025

Save Big, Save Now!

Amazon’s Prime Day is here, and there are some seriously deep discounts on all sorts of fitness products, from home gym equipment to supplements. We won’t keep you in suspense any longer — here are our favorite deals right now:

• Peloton Bike: Save 20%

• UREVO Walking Pad: Save up to 7%

• Sunny Health and Fitness Rowing Machine: Save up to 30%

• Orgain Organic Vegan Protein Powder, Vanilla Bean: Save 20%

• Perfect Bar Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Protein Bar: Save 20%

• Muscle Milk Pro Advanced Nutrition Protein Shake, Intense Vanilla: Save 30%

• Optimum Nutrition Micronized Creatine Monohydrate Powder: Save 27%

• Ativafit Adjustable Dumbbells: Save 25%

• LifePro Sauna Blanket: Save up to 24% on select colors

• PowerBlock Adjustable Dumbbells: Save 6%

Sound Off!

Quick Hits

🦵 Try This: What the heck is a stiletto squat? Learn all about this underrated leg move and see how it can help supercharge your training.

💪 Analyze This: Amid a cluttered calendar of major competitions, Giants Live is still going strong(man). Get the full results from last weekend’s 2025 Giants Live Strongman Classic and familiarize yourself with some of the most powerful people on the planet.

♥️ Send Positive Thoughts: Potential front-runner for the CrossFit Games, Alex Gazan, has officially decided to opt out of the competition, set to take place in Albany, NY, next month. Gazan’s outlook had been tenuous since a car accident in California in June, and she plans to focus on recovering from her injuries and return to competition soon.

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