🏋️‍♀️ should you squat barefoot?

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Here’s what we’re talking about today:

• Rudy Kadlub’s 524-pound deadlift at 74 years old.

• Why the clean is the power-building move you need in your routine.

• And should you lift barefoot?

Must-See Lift

A Happy (and Heavy) Birthday Deadlift

Masters powerlifter Rudy Kadlub is known for celebrating his birthday every year by pulling a new personal best deadlift. On Friday, April 28, Kadlub continued that tradition for his 74th birthday by deadlifting a 237.6-kilogram (524-pound) raw double — one pound more than he pulled on his 73rd birthday and four pounds more than he pulled on his 72nd birthday.

The first rep went up quickly. After a brief pause at the bottom, Kadlub made the second attempt. He struggled more with the second rep but reached the top before putting the bar down. Though the feat was a success, Kadlub did mention that he needs to reconsider his goals and how he will spend his 75th birthday in 2024.

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Exercise Tips

One Powerful Move

The first time you ever saw someone doing a clean probably blew your mind. Most free-weight exercises are slow and controlled; take a bar (or pair of dumbbells) from here to there with a nice, consistent tempo. The clean, though? Over in the blink of an eye.

The clean is an essential skill in the sport of weightlifting — it’s also a damn good way to build explosive power, improve coordination, and have a blast in the weight room, to boot.

But the move is deceptively tricky to learn, especially if you’re teaching yourself. Well, we won’t leave you hanging — we broke the move down into a fine powder so you can learn all there is to know about it without sheepishly asking someone at the gym to teach you.

Gym Questions

Should You Lift Barefoot?

You’ve probably seen it in your gym at least once — someone training in a pair of socks or, more shockingly still, entirely barefoot, flesh-to-floor style. It certainly looks odd at a glance, but it does beg the question: Is there a method to the madness here, or are shoeless lifters simply running afoul of good gym etiquette?

Although there are definite pros to keeping your shoes on, there are actually some pretty strong arguments to be made in favor of training without them. We weigh the pros and cons below.

Everything Else

The World’s Strongest Guest

• The 2023 World’s Strongest Man Mitchell Hooper recently joined the BarBend Podcast to talk about life after winning the biggest show in strongman.

• The dumbbell front squat only requires a pair of weights and a little bit of floorspace, but it’ll give you a heck of a quad workout. Here’s how to do it.

• WWE Hall of Famer Rey Mysterio walked fellow grappler Sheamus through a punishing chest workout. Follow along here.