🏋️‍♂️ Bench more weight with this science-backed tip

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Here’s what’s going on in today’s edition:

• Science tries to increase your bench press

• Bust through biceps plateaus

• Should your knees cave in while squatting?

Strength Training

Character Arch

There’s no shortage of confounding problems that science has had to grapple with over the centuries. Now, we may have answered one of the most perplexing questions: How can you add 10 pounds to your bench press max?

A new study, seen in the March 2024 edition of the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, acutely examines the effects — and the benefits — of an arched back versus a flat back while maxing out on the bench.

Researchers found that a strong back arch, advocated for years by top powerlifters, could potentially be your key to a beefier 1-rep max. The study also looked at differences between bar speeds and took an EMG-assisted look at the muscle activation of both approaches.

Want to reap the benefits of a bigger bench max? Check out the details for yourself in the article below.

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Hypertrophy

A New-Fangled Approach

Training biceps starts out as everyone’s favorite adventure in hypertrophy. But when the two-headed muscle monsters get stubborn and refuse to grow, it’s time to call in the experts.

Dr. Mike Israetel has the solution to your biceps boredom with this less-than-romantic-looking exercise designed to force your arms to grow. Working in the long-lever range, popular with both modern science and up-to-date bodybuilders, Dr. Israetel wants you to get a deep stretch in your peaks before the flex phase takes over. (Get a sneak peek of the move in the GIF above.)

If your fear of DOMs is less than your fear of stagnation, this new movement could be the key to the bigger biceps you crave. Get a full tutorial on the move (along with a few other helpful tips) in the article below:

Exercise Tips

Knee Cave and the Bad Seeds

Taking a somewhat sensational position, Dr. Layne Norton is questioning the oft-quoted advice to “press your knees out” during the squat to avoid one of the deadly sins of the movement: knee cave-in.

With both a PhD and time on the platform to justify his credentials, Dr. Norton is defying the conventional wisdom that says knees turning in on a loaded squat causes injury and inhibits the use of maximal force during the lift. 

While he doesn’t universally recommend dumping your knees inside, he does argue that for some people, this movement pattern may both strengthen the muscles of the squat and produce larger numbers deep into meets. Agree, disagree, or agree to disagree, this enlightening take may shift your perception of the knees’ role in a deep hip hinge.

Everything Else

Cross-Fitness Co-Operation

• Proving that taking a piece of the fitness pie doesn’t necessarily involve removing it from the mouth of somebody else, Morning Chalk Up writer Teaganne Finn embarked upon a HYROX race recently. Here’s what this CrossFitter had to say about the competition.

• Made popular by Box dwellers, the barbell thruster combines several compound lifts together to make a mega-full-body movement.

• With a large roster of competitors and several records taken down, Austin, Texas, played host to the 2024 IPF World Bench Press Championships. Here are the results.