🏋️‍♂️ can you handle ATG split squats?

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Here’s what we’ve got for you today:

• Dissecting the ATG split squat

• How to squeeze a workout into 15 minutes

• A look back at Dorian Yates’ harrowing 1997 Olympia win

Exercise Tips

Split Personality

If you want to chew up every last morsel of potential muscle gain, you need a single-leg exercise that ups the ante on your range of motion. In short: you need to do the ATG (that’s “ass-to-grass”) split squat.

Supercharging the range of motion on a standard lunge, the ATG split squat improves mobility, strengthens legs, and gives you a new challenge on leg day.

You’ll have to really limber up your ankles and hips to get into a full ATG split squat position (hint: doing more of them will help with the mobility). And while the bottom of the move is a tenuous position, the potential gains are well worth it. Learn all about how to build yourself up to a full ATG split squat below.

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Workouts

Quarter-Hour Gains

Fans of The Mighty Ducks 2 will take any amount of time given and transpose it into the phrase: “Two minutes, well worth it.” (In this case, we’re talking about 15 minutes, also well worth it).

Even if you’re officially part of the Bash Brothers, you can still read this article and learn to use those 15 minutes to your advantage with some top-notch workouts focused on strength, conditioning, and more.

Though it seems like 15 minutes isn’t enough for a real gym session, it can be all you need for serious improvements. You’re not going to have enough time to work up to a top set of deadlifts, but if you keep the pace high with a running clock, you can fit a ton of hard work into this tiny window. Squeeze some of these circuit-based workouts into your life with some help from the article below.

Bodybuilding

The Shadow’s Saga

Dorian Yates was one of the first true mass monsters in the sport of bodybuilding. Tougher than a coffin nail, the six-time Mr. Olympia winner’s training philosophy was all about going as hard as possible to get as big as possible. (And it certainly worked for him.)

What happened, then, when a major triceps injury looked to derail the defense of his Mr. Olympia title in 1997? Well, Yates was never one to back down, and his response to a debilitating injury was as tough as his reputation in the gym. Read the full story about the lengths he went to retain his crown.

Everything Else

Track Yourself

• Technological advances have been helping athletes for as long as singlets and compression socks have existed. And now, everyone can reap the advantages of health data analysis thanks to these wearable fitness trackers.

• It’s time to get wide by integrating the sumo deadlift into your lower body lifting routine. Certified Personal Trainer Mike Dewar explains the ins and outs of the sumo deadlift.

• CrossFit legend Rich Froning and his training team, Mayhem or Die, (barely) survived completing a grueling 24-hour rowing challenge. Watch the highlights.