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Welcome to The BarBend Newsletter! Here’s what’s on tap in this edition:

• The top cable moves for size and strength

• 3 accessory exercises for better squats

• Full 2025 CrossFit Games results

Exercise Selection

Cable Gains

Reports of the death of cable have been wildly exaggerated. For clarity’s sake: We’re not talking about the thing you jam Law & Order reruns on when you’re in a hotel. That cable is absolutely dead. We’re talking about the cable machine at your local gym.

Almost limitless in its possibilities, a solid cable machine can be almost as valuable as a barbell and a power rack. Here, we present 15 of the best ways to use this iconic weight room contraption to build size, strength, and stability.

The freedom the cable gives your body to pursue its own ideas about range of motion is what sets it apart from other types of machines. The angles you can create let you train every single muscle in your body, from abs with cable crunches to lats with the classic low row to triceps with the often-used pushdown. And that just scratches the surface.

Sign up for the package deal with your local cable machine today, and channel surf your way through these 15 exercises for all your different muscle groups.

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Strength Training

Accessorize Your Squat

It’s not entirely fair to say that top strongman competitors can lift more than powerlifters, are bigger than bodybuilders, and are more explosive than Olympic lifters — but you wouldn’t be that far off the mark if you went out on a limb and made that claim.

In order to build his squat to the level it needs to be to compete on the world stage, three-time World’s Strongest Man winner Tom Stoltman relies on these three major accessory movements to keep his body humming along.

You might think one of the strongest people on the planet would need some kind of ultra-fancy setup to keep improving his squat, but these exercises are all things that wouldn’t be out of place at a Planet Fitness. Stoltman’s preferred method is to hit ultra-high reps with these, possibly saving his body’s heavy efforts for when they really matter, while also coaxing along the hypertrophy that is so important to an athlete his size.

If you really want to squat like a strongman, this is the type of stuff you need to be working on.

2025 CrossFit Games

History Is Made in Albany

The 2025 CrossFit Games is officially in the books, and if you haven’t been paying attention, there’s a lot to catch up on. First off, Jayson Hopper took home the win for the men, putting on an incredible performance in one of the tightest leaderboards we’ve ever seen.

Then, of course, there’s Tia-Clair Toomey-Orr, who won her record eighth CrossFit Games in the women’s division. And…it wasn’t really close. Catch up on all the action in our full leaderboard below.

Quick Hits

Best of the Games: Even if you couldn’t care less about CrossFit, it’s hard not to be impressed by the women who competed over the weekend. How about Tia-Clair Toomey-Orr beating two-thirds of the men’s field during the first event? Or Lucy Campbell hitting some epic one-handed cleans in Event 3?

Hydrate With These: Need to get back some of the nutrients you lost after a hard workout? These seven tested-and-approved electrolyte drinks offer you the perfect blend of tasty flavor and replenishing vigor.

For Revolutionary Pecs: If you are looking to build a bigger chest, specifically your upper pecs, look no further than the guillotine press. The guillotine press is a means of achieving serious upper chest development with a light weight. Here’s how to do it the right way.

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