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

• Arnie and Ronnie train together at Gold’s

• How strong is The Rock, really?

• 9 types of dumbbell flye for a bigger chest

Bodybuilding

Two GOATs Walk Into a Gym

You can realistically argue that Arnold Schwarzenegger is the greatest bodybuilder of all time. You also couldn’t be faulted for saying Ronnie Coleman is the best to ever do it. Trying to make a case that neither of them belongs in that top spot? Eh, that’s a tough hill to climb.

Combined, the two greats of bodybuilding brought their 15 total Mr. Olympia titles together and trained arms and delts over at the iconic Venice Gold’s Gym.

There was a lot of “yeah, buddies!” bandied about, and more than a few glottal sounds were expelled that are rarely heard in the English language. While neither man is in his prime, the shared camaraderie and love of a good workout still motivate these two in the gym. This will likely become your new favorite lifting video to watch before heading out the door to train.

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Entertainment

Can Dwayne Back It Up?

Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson sports one of the most impressive physiques in Hollywood history. The former wrestler seemed to get even bigger and harder-looking when he left the squared circle behind for the glitz of Tinseltown.

Does “The People’s Champ” have the strength to back up his appearance, or is he all show and no go? 

We broke down Johnson’s history of strength, from his days as a college football player to his current life as an entertainment icon and influencer. From there, we pieced together his max lifts, workout style, and overall progression of gains over the decades.

Exercises

Pretty Flye

Perched on your chest and just begging to be put in a tight shirt, your pecs demand some respect in your training program. Just bouncing heavy weights off them on the bench press won’t give you the 3D shape that creates an impressive rack.

These nine types of dumbbell flyes can help you stretch, elongate, and ultimately shape these stately muscles into round mounds of perfection.

Starting with the basics, you can use those settings on your DB bench to create new angles to attack your pecs. Combining these flat, incline, and decline flyes can mold all that clay into a state of aesthetic idealism. Remind people “my eyes are up here” more often by using all these flyes to craft a very distracting upper body.

Sound Off!

Blockbuster Showdown

Quick Hits

🐐 Listen to Yates: Dorian Yates gets a little forgotten in the social media buzz around TikTok lifters sometimes. His holistic views on training are deeper than just “sets to failure,” as you can learn about in this large-scope interview concerning longevity and health.

🏋️‍♂️ Read This: Olympic lifting is a global sport—the Weightlifting House newsletter brings it all to your inbox every Friday. Get the latest industry news, read exclusive interviews with top athletes, and see the biggest lifts happening both on and off the competition platform. Sign up today!

🦵 Grow Quads Like This: Jay Cutler is known for being a simply massive human being. You can pick his mind on the subject of quad size by reading about his favorite exercises for huge wheels.

☀️ Bend Like This: Good Mornings are a great posterior chain developer, but not everyone wants to put a barbell behind their neck and bend over just to train glutes and low back. These 6 alternatives are a little easier on the joints, and just as rugged on the muscles.

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