Flo Rida claims that the company owed him money from an endorsement deal.
Platinum-selling rapper Flo Rida has been awarded $82.6 million in damages by a South Florida jury as the result of his lawsuit against the makers of Celsius energy drinks.
Flo Rida, whose real name is Tramar Dillard, sued Celsius Holdings Inc., along with his company Strong Arm Productions. They claimed that the energy drink company violated the conditions of his endorsement deal and attempted to hide money. Flo Rida, who was with the company from 2014-18, claimed he was owed $30,000 for the contract breach but the company continued to grow and so did the worth.
Dillard claims that he still owns stock in the company and is interested in working with them again in the future. He was quoted by Rolling Stonesaying:
“From the start, I only wanted what I worked for, nothing more, nothing less. I was instrumental in the Celsius that you know and love today. When this journey began no one knew Celsius. I took Celsius all over the world through my videos, concerts, appearances, and social media. I have gained a new respect for the judicial system. God bless America.”
Over his four years with the company, Flo Rida believed that he was an important part in growing the brand. Dillard and his attorney argued that his involvement allowed Celsius to introduce many opportunities and grow the company worldwide.
According to Yahoo, Flo Rida still drinks Celsius products and wants to put this legal battle behind them and continue to do business.
“I’m still a owner in the company. And when you basically planted the seed for something that is successful, you can’t help but have unconditional love.”
Seth Feroce is motivated to get in shredded shape.
Bodybuilder and entrepreneur Seth Feroce recently revealed that he is disgusted with his current physique has vowed to get in shredded condition. The outspoken bodybuilder is looking to get in top form and rewind the clock on his physique.
It can be hard, maintaining a truly impressive and shredded physique. Getting the adequate amount of muscle and keeping body fat low can be a daunting task. When we see bodybuilders hit the stage in their most massive and conditioned forms, we’re seeing them at their very best. But what happens when a bodybuilder isn’t on stage? What happens during the off-season? And what happens when a bodybuilder retires, uses less gear, and is too busy to train in the way that they used to?
They lose a step.
From how things sound that’s exactly what happened to bodybuilding veteran Seth Feroce. One of the most outspoken figures in the Bodybuilding community, Feroce hold nothing back on speaking on the sport that he loves. If there is a particular athlete or controversial subject that he comes across, Feroce tells it like it is. That includes taking himself to task as well.
After being consumed by running his own business, Seth Feroce has found himself in a unique position. While he still is in incredible shape, Feroce believes he has lost a step. He has gained a bit of body fat and isn’t as shredded as he usually is. This fact has caused him to be disappointed with himself. But rather than refuse to take action, Feroce has made a vow to get in top condition once again.
A Vow to Get in Shape
In a recent video posted to his YouTube channel,Seth Feroce detailed his opinions on his current physique, as well as his intentions, moving forward.
“I’m making this video because I’m going to get in the best shape I’ve been in in over a decade,” said Seth Feroce. “I’m disgusted with how I look. I’m not happy with myself.I don’t feel good about myself when I look in the mirror… Over the past two months, I still did my cardio but the cardio wasn’t outweighing the bags of pretzels I was eating. I don’t eat bad food but I eat a lot, like a lot of peanut butter and jelly rice cakes at night, a lot of pretzels, those are my snacks. I stress eat. It’s a downfall. It’s calories in and calories out.
“Doing these things, my company took precedence and my training took a back seat, my family took a backseat.
“I had to make decisions on those long 10, 12, or 14 hour days, when it’s 7 or 8 o’clock at night and I’m like, ‘do I train or go home and see the kids during the holidays?’ Majority of the time, I chose the kids.”
Extra Motivation
You can tell that Seth Feroce has found a new level of motivation and is looking forward to getting back in top shape.
“Now, I’m in a position where I get to be me on the internet again. I’m very excited about it. I miss bodybuilding so much like crazy… Everyone, you are going to see me get in shape. You are going to see me go from what you see right now to me going diced, f**king shredded.”
News and Editorial Writer at Generation Iron, Jonathan Salmon is a writer, martial arts instructor, and geek culture enthusiast. Check out his YouTube, Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and Sound Cloud for in-depth MMA analysis.
The 2023 Olympia will take place from Nov. 2-5 in Orlando, FL.
The calendar has switched to 2023. Now, fans and bodybuilders can begin preparing for the biggest event of the year. The IFBB Pro League released its schedule and announced that the 2023 Olympia will take place from Nov. 2-5 at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Florida.
The official Mr. Olympia website mrolympia.com has confirmed the dates by changing the banners on the site. All 11 divisions in bodybuilding will be back on stage to crown the best there is. The show will return to Orlando after being held in Las Vegas back in December. This will be the third time that the competition is in Orlando out of four years.
Hadi Choopan was crowned the 2022 Mr. Olympia. He was able to reach the pinnacle after years of finishing in the top three. Derek Lunsford and Nick Walker challenged Choopan for the title, along with many others. The Men’s Open division will continue to highlight the show with a deep group. Also, if Chris Bumstead returns to the stage, he will be going for his fifth consecutive Classic Physique title.
photo credit courtesy of @dotsenko_gi
Qualifying For The 2023 Olympia
Earlier this month, the league announced the ways that bodybuilders could qualify for the 2023 Olympia. Now, they will be forced to win a contest as the IFBB Pro League has done away with the points qualification system. Also, the top five competitors from Men’s Open, along with the top three finishers in all other divisions, will automatically be in.
During the 2022 Olympia, there was reportedly 400 bodybuilders across all 11 divisions to qualify for a spot in the show, which was the largest in competition history. Now, sights will be set on the 2023 competition.
Breon Ansley joins the podcast to talk about how Classic Physique needs to evolve, bodybuilding prize money, and how to build the perfect back.
An Arnold Classic champion and 2x Olympia champion, Breon Ansley is a modern day legend in the Classic Physique division and helped set the standard for what the category has evolved into. Now with his move into the 212 division, Brandon Lirio invited Ansley onto the U-Natty States Of America podcast to reflect on his time in Classic Physique and to look towards the divisions future alongside his new-found journey into a new division.
While not the first ever Classic Physique champion (that honor goes to Danny Hester), Breon Ansley arguably set the standard for what a Classic Physique should look like in the earliest years of the division. Now in 2023, it seems Ansley has outgrown the division – both metaphorically and literally.
Upon announcing his decision to move up to Men’s 212, Ansley admitted that he was struggling to keep himself at the weight cap for Classic Physique and wanted to explore what he could accomplish at a bigger size. He also believe that the Classic Physique division still has some “catching up to do” in order to be the division it desires to be. One that focuses on truly classic posing and focuses less on size.
Now that his final Classic Physique competition (2022 Olympia) is over, Breon Ansley is 100% focused on his transition into Men’s 212. With the Classic Physique division behind him, Brandon Lirio took most of the time during their interview to discuss and reflect back on Ansley’s many years in the division. The pros, the cons, and his opinions on where the division is heading and where he thinks it should be heading. Let’s jump into it.
Breon Ansley thinks Classic Physique isn’t “classic” until posing routines are judged
Over the years, there has been a desire by many fans and even athletes to bring back scoring of posing routines. This would take into consideration not simply the mandatory poses and the physique of the athletes – but also the creativity while also maintaining a spot on physique.
This has been a debate for Men’s Open and Men’s 212 for years – and also applies to the relatively new Classic Physique division. For Brandon Lirio, it’s even more important to score the posing routines in Classic Physique. The entire division was aimed to evoke the Golden Age classic physiques of the 70s. This was an era when posing routines were judged. Why bring back classic poses if the routines themselves are not scored?
Breon Ansley agrees and thinks that the division as it stands now has already made great strides in evolving to its true form. In the earliest years of the division, the weight and height limits were drastically changed each season. Why? To lock in what works best for the athletes competing while also maintaining the vision of classic aesthetics on the body.
For Ansley, he thinks that the next step is for the division to “catch up” and evolve further by allowing for scored posing routines. He believes only then will it live up to the promise for what the division originally aimed to achieve.
While it’s not the main reason for him leaving the division, it’s one small part of many as he decided to move up to the Men’s 212. With his size becoming more and more of a challenge – he didn’t see why he needed to stay in Classic Physique anymore. With posing routines not being a huge aspect of the competition scoring, and staying under the weight cap becoming increasingly harder, Men’s 212 became the obvious choice for Breon Ansley.
“I think the Men’s 212 is missing some punch, some charisma, some personality… So I hope to bring all of that back.”
Breon Ansley spoke with Jake Wood about prize money disparity between Classic Physique and Men’s Open
During their conversation, Brandon Lirio brings up the topic of prize money and earnings for pro bodybuilders. He refers to his previous episode breaking down how bodybuilders earn profit in the sport – and how competitions alone will never allow for most athletes to make a living as a pro bodybuilder alone. He also points out how Classic Physique, a division that is wildly popular only behind Men’s Open, pays vastly less to the Olympia champion compared to the Mr. Olympia Men’s Open winner.
Breon Ansley agrees and thinks that in order for the sport to grow it needs to take care of the athletes financially. In fact, Ansley states that he had a direct conversation with Jake Wood about it. While he didn’t disclose when this conversation happened – he states that they met to discuss how Classic Physique competitors can be better compensated for placing in the top five of Olympia.
Ansley walked out of the conversation with new insight. While he does still think that something must be done to raise revenue and bring more prize money to all divisions, Jake Wood also made note of the financial access for fans of the sport. There are many bodybuilding fans who cannot afford to pay, let’s say NFL Super Bowl prices to attend the event. Wood wants to make the event as accessible as possible for all fans regardless of income.
The athletes are important and must be taken care of. But so are the fans. Without the fans there is no sport. The solution seems to be a longer term goal – make the brand of Olympia (and Pro Bodybuilding) more mainstream to bring in even more fans, more sponsors, etc. Breon Ansley has his own tip as well in this new digital age. He wants fans of the sport to stop pirating the Arnold Classic and Mr. Olympia live streams. If more people honestly paid for the PPV events, there would be more money to go around to athletes who place high.
“My goal, my dream, is to have us back on ESPN like in the 90s.”
– Breon Ansley
How to build a massive back without blowing out your waist
At the end of the interview, Brandon Lirio asked Breon Ansley some questions sent in by fans. The most interesting one was about building up a massive back. More specifically, how do you build out a wide upper back without blowing out your waist?
In pro bodybuilding, having a tapered tight waist under a massive batwing back is essential for winning shows. As many say, bodybuilding competitions are won from the back. But having a tight waist while keeping a wide back is easier said than done. What’s the tactic?
Breon Ansley says that the key is to focus on breathing techniques and ab control while training. With every exercise, no matter the body part, a bodybuilder should focus on controlling their stomach, waist, and abs. Ansley suggests that vacuum exercises are a great addition into a workout to help with control.
He also suggests waist trimmer belts. While he doesn’t think they actually help trim waists in the way they promise, they do help make you more conscientious about your waist as you exercise. This helps you keep yourself in check and keep control of your breathing and waist control.
Wrap Up
Breon Ansley and Brandon Lirio discuss all things Classic Physique and bodybuilding throughout their podcast interview. Much more than we can cover in on single article. That’s why you should watch the full episode of U-Natty States Of America above. Don’t forget to check back every Wednesday for new episodes only on the Generation Iron Fitness Network or wherever podcasts are downloaded.
Andrew Jacked is now working with the late Shawn Rhoden’s trainer to help improve.
Andrew Jackedis now part of the roster for the 2023 Arnold Classic and intends to make the necessary improvements on stage. It seems as though he is joining the late Shawn Rhoden’s former coach Chris “Psycho” Lewis to get the best he can for the upcoming show.
Jacked quickly became a bodybuilder with plenty of hype when he earned his Pro Card at the 2022 Arnold Classic Amateur. He competed at his first show in August at the 2022 Texas Pro, where he was able to take home the prize. Jacked backed it up with another victory at the Arnold Classic UK.
Jacked finished the calendar year of 2022 with an appearance at the 2022 Olympia. He finished ninth despite battling a serious fever throughout the competition. Now, he will set his sights on the Arnold Classic.
Andrew Jacked To Work With Chris Lewis
Dave Palumbo of Rx Muscle shared the news of Chris Lewis working with Andrew Jacked. Palumbo revealed that Lewis shared the news with him directly.
“I got word from Chris ‘Psycho’ Lewis, I don’t know if I’m supposed to say this, but it’s too late. You tell me, and you don’t tell me it’s off the record, then I have to open my mouth.
Chris ‘Psycho’ Lewis is going to be training Andrew Jacked for the next six weeks or five weeks or whatever it is for the Arnold.
Chris Lewis worked under the guidance of Charles Glass and continues to use many principles taught. He helped guide Shawn Rhoden to the 2018 Olympia title, where he was able to defeat the likes of Phil Heath.
“We know that he did wonders with Shawn Rhoden keeping him focused and getting him into that gym,” Dave Palumbo said.
Andrew Jacked decided to throw his name into the ring for the upcoming Arnold Classic. Last week, it was announced that the prize purse would increase to $300,000 this year for the Men’s Open champion. He will have a chance to go up against Nick Walker, who finished third at the Olympia.
Palumbo believes that Chris Lewis will get the most out of Andrew Jacked before he takes the stage in March.
“I think it’s a game-changer because I remember seeing a picture of Andrew Jacked… It was before he had competed in one of the shows that he won. And he looked good, you know what I mean. But you take a real real real look, you might say, God, he might be way better than he actually looks here because he’s very in proportions.”
IFBB Pro bodybuilder Derek Lunsford is back in the gym to improve his physique for the 2023 Olympia.
After just two weeks after Derek Lunsford’s impressive 2022 Olympia performance, he was back in the gym to improve for the next biggest bodybuilding show of the year. He’s improving his chest for the 2023 Mr. Olympia workout, which we’ll review in this article.
Derek Lunsford is an International Federation of BodyBuilding and Fitness (IFBB) Pro athlete. He competed in the Men’s 212 division for most of his career but transitioned to the Men’s Open division for the 2022 Olympia. Lunsford beat out the 2020 Men’s 212 champ, Shaun Clarida, to become an Olympia champion of the 212 class in 2021.
In 2022, fears set in that he couldnn’t make weight again for Men’s 212 division due to his size. Therefore, he was invited to compete in the Men’s Open division. Of course, as history wrote, he crushed it. Lunsford finished runner-up behind the 2022 Mr. Olympia Hadi Choopan.
Derek Lunsford announced that he would not be competing at the 2023 Arnold Classic to focus on improving his physique—specifically his chest and quads—so he can, hopefully, claim the Mr. Olympia title later this year.
And rightfully so. Because Olympia took place towards the end of the year rather than in November, this gave competitors little time to rest and prep their physique for the 2023 season. Therefore, some have opted not to compete in the Arnold Classic.
Derek Lunsford is back in the gym and went through a chest workout to kickstart his 2023 training camp—and recently, Lunsford annihilated a leg workout with the 2019 212 Olympia champ Kamal Elgargni.
Derek Lunsford shared his chest workout on his YouTube, which we’ll dive into below.
Smith Machine Chest Press
Unsurprisingly, he started his chest workout with a compound movement, the smith machine chest press. He did a few warm-up sets and eventually worked his way up to 4 sets, where Kamal Elgargni was there to motivate him. With some extra motivation, he added a double drop set.
The smith machine chest press targets your chest, triceps, and shoulders, emphasizing your chest. The machine will isolate more of your chest than the free-weight barbell bench press, and it’s safer. But it won’t work your stabilizers or core as much.
Superset: Smith Machine Bench Press and Low Cable Crossover
Next, the 2021 Men’s 212 Olympia champ superset—exercises back to back—-with low cable crossover. The low cable crossover helps you build complete chest development. This exercise fills out your upper chest, which is essential since a developed upper chest can make your upper body appear much fuller.
Supersets are beneficial since they let you do more volume in less time and increase your workouts’ intensity.
Lunsford performed the sets at a slow and controlled tempo. He stated:
“I’m starting to get a better mind-muscle connection. So that way, when I am performing each rep, I can just feel the muscle fibers firing. That’s something I had a big problem with in the past. I would say just this past year, probably from the 2021 to 2022 season, is the first time I felt like I was really firing my chest that much. So now, this year, I feel like it’s firing even better, and I just want to keep going in that direction.”
Then, he moved on to an accessory movement.
Peck Deck Flyes
After the superset, Lunsford performed his next chest movement on the peck deck fly. This exercise is excellent for adding volume and size to your pecs. He completed 10-12 reps on this exercise. Typically, it’s more beneficial to use a lighter load and do more reps on accessory movements than compound movements like the bench press.
To further increase his workload, Lunsford added some pauses as he contracted his chest muscles together to improve his muscles timer under tension.
Triceps Dip Presses
The 2022 Mr. Olympia runner-up moved on to a tricep-focused exercise—the triceps dip press. Although, he made some adjustments to make it engage more of his lower pecs. He expressed:
“It can hit the lower pecs too. So am I feeling at the triceps? Sure, I am. First of all, I am facing in the opposite direction. And I am leaning my chest forward over the resistance of the weight. So that way, it’s almost like a decline chest press for me. I just feel this a lot better than I do any other lower chest exercise. Whether it be a bodyweight or a decline pressing movement.”
He added:
“Just by switching the position, leaning the chest over, it is going to hit more of the chest. If I sat more straight up, it would be more of my triceps.”
After this triceps and lower chest extensive movement, Derek Lunsford moved to the final exercise in his chest workout.
Decline Cable Flyes
He isolated his chest with a few sets of the decline cable fly. And he also tagged in the ab exercises, decline crunches, and leg raises to wrap up his workout.
The decline cable fly is another excellent exercise for specifically firing up the lower portion of your chest.
Chest Exercises
Below are the exercises Derek Lunsford did for his chest workout.
Exercises
Smith Machine Chest Press
Smith Machine Bench Press Superset Low Cable Crossover
Peck Deck Flyes
Triceps Dip Presses
Decline Cable Flyes
*Note: Derek Lunsford also added in decline crunches and leg raises for his abs at the end of his workout.
You can watch Derek Lunsford perform his chest workout as a courtesy to his YouTube channel here:
More IFBB Pro Workouts
Are you interested in seeing more IFBB Pro bodybuilders’ gruesome workouts? If so, check out the links below:
Here are some quick fixes to major gym problems that are faced!
So there are times in life when problems unexpectedly occur, and you are left having to think on your feet. The gym happens to be a prime example of this.Below are typical problems gym rats will potentially face, but fear not as I have a fix for each issue.
Follow this guide and you will always have a solution up your sleeve.
1. Problem: Wrong Footwear
If you find you have turned up at the gym with the wrong footwear, i.e. sneakers with an air bubble or elevated sole, and planned to do deadlifts that day. Gym problems can start with what you place on your feet!
Fix 1
Kick off those shoes and deadlift or squat in your socks. An elevated heel will push the body forward more and going shoeless allows the body to be in the most neutral position.
Fix 2
Alway pack a pair of chucks into your bag just in case. As chucks are good for deadlifting as they have a flat sole.
2. Problem: No Pre Workout
You open your cupboard to find you have just run out of pre workout and forgot to order some more. This is one of those gym problems that happens before you even leave your house!
Fix 1
Drink a cup of coffee, all pre workouts contain caffeine. 1 cup of coffee contains 95mg of caffeine.
It may even be worth having some unflavored beta alanine to hand, as you can even throw a small scoop into your coffee. The benefit of beta alanine is that it increases muscle carnosine levels, and carnosine in turn buffers the onset of fatigue.
3. Problem: Muscle Tweak
You feel a small tweak in one of your muscles during your workout. This is a nightmare for gym goers, and you are going to want to correct this right away.
Fix 1
In order to avoid making this muscle tweak worse, sacrifice that one session and stop working out, and live to fight another day. As continuing could put you out of action for a lot longer, and that is not ideal for making gains.
Fix 2
Always have some sort of muscle rub in your gym bag, and if the tweak is not that severe, then apply the muscle rub to the area in question and continue with caution. Also be sure to stretch and foam roll the area in question before continuing.
4. Problem: No Clips
So you want to bench or squat or deadlift and for the life of you, you cannot find any spare clips in the gym. This is a gym problem that no one wants to deal with.
Fix 1
Convert your barbell exercise into a landmine exercise. The landmine can be used for: landmine chest press, landmine squat, landmine lunges, landmine deadlift and single arm or T bar row.
Fix 2
If you really cannot continue without clips then change the workout plan for that day, and convert to a dumbbell day and supplement with machines accordingly.
5. Problem: Equipment Taken
So you walk into the gym mentally prepared to squat or bench press but find that piece of equipment is taken and doesn’t seem to be free anytime soon; one of the worst gym problems to experience. Do you just wait?
Fix 1
If it is available then use the smith machine, perfect for either squat or deadlift. You also can check out some other gym machines.
Fix 2
Like one of my previous suggestions, if the rack and bench are not free but an olympic bar is then why not utilize the landmine to either do a landmine chest press or landmine squat instead.
6. Problem: Forgot Headphones
So you walk into the gym and you realize you forgot your headphones. This may be one of the worst gym problems to experience as a gym goer. The only real fix here is that you suck it up and continue without them or you go back home and get them!
7. Forgot lifting belt
You put your hand into your gym bag and find that your lifting belt isn’t there, you took it out and left it on your kitchen counter. But today is a heavy deadlift day, so this is one of those gym problems that can really throw off your training. What should you do?
Fix 1
Rethink today’s workout and either change to a body part where a belt isn’t required as much, so something smaller like shoulders or biceps and triceps.
Fix 2
Or, if you are dead set on deadlifting today, if you are using an olympic bar, brace your core more and reduce the weight to ensure the back really is kept tight. Alternatively utilize the smith machine where there will be less stress on the back.
8. No Squat bar pad
So you like to use the squat bar pad to protect your neck, but it seems to have disappeared off of the gym floor.
Fix 1
Use a towel, or your hoodie around the bar to cushion your neck.
Fix 2
Use nothing and start acclimating yourself to using the bar, this will allow you to become more comfortable not using the pad and also increase your stability.
9. Problem: No Platform for elevation
So you want to do straight leg deadlifts, otherwise known as the Romanian deadlift, but there is no stepper or platform to elevate yourself on to allow really deep SLD’s.
Fix 1
Use olympic plates and stack accordingly, make sure they are stacked evenly and in line with each other so there is no wobble and that it is sturdy.
10. Problem: No Free Bench
So you want a bench but there are none free and the wait time for one seems endless. Do you just give up and go home? No!
Fix 1
If you wanted to do a dumbbell press then why not grab a mat and do it as a floor press, your elbows will hit the floor on the descent but it also allows the elbows to use the floor to bounce off of, so it is like having a spotter.
Fix 2
Change it up and utilize machines for that day or change up the plan or body part for that day.
In a busy gym environment it is good to stay fairly flexible and be able to think on your feet, especially if you train at peak times.
So there you have it guys, I have hopefully covered all those little gym problems you may encounter.
So until next time, keep pumping!
Gym Problems Wrap Up
Overall, there are plenty of gym problems you may face, especially this time of year. However, we have provided a good amount of solutions and hope it helps you solve the issues!
These are great weighted and non-weighted bench press alternative exercises.
The bench press is a staple in many of our routines as it is one of those big powerlifts that can really enhance chest growth and size. As a monster pushing exercise, the bench press is one to really improve many aspects of our lifts while still increasing our size for a massive physique. Aside from increasing benching power, it will work to assist more functional movements that will affect your everyday life in more ways than one.
Okay, so we’ve bragged on and on about the bench press and what it can do. But for many of us, we may not have access to a full bench set-up, therefore making the bench press quite difficult to do. Well, you’re in luck. Thankfully there are a host of bodyweight and weighted chest exercises that can be supplemented with or swapped in instead to really offer that growth you want to see most while being in the comfort of your own home. You aren’t sacrificing anything and you still get the many benefits of strength, size, and balance, among others.
Let’s dive right into these alternate exercises and see what they do for our gains today. A puffed out chest can increase confidence inside and out of the gym and those popping pecs are nothing to laugh at.
Bench Press Basics
People love to bench. It’s arguably the most common question you get asked when at the gym and for some reason, this lift has become what the mile is to the runner, sort of like a lifters calling card. The bench press targets your chest, arms, and shoulders and is designed to improve upper body strength while also enhancing grip strength for a host of other exercises (1). For more functional movements, the bench press can benefit you day in and day out.
Some of the benefits of this monster lift include increased upper body strength, better muscular endurance, and more balance and support for this lift as well as others. With its continued popularity and ability to seriously enhance your gains, this strength-based, power-inducing exercise is not one to ignore.
Best Bench Press Alternatives
As said before, sometimes we don’t have access to the bench press. While we’ve hyped this exercise up, the parallels to other chest exercises are quite similar and these alternative exercises can really work for your benefit when it comes to strength, size, support, and stability.
Push-Ups
The push-up is a perfect bodyweight exercise that is simple and easy to learn with little to no hassle to you at all. It can be done anywhere at anytime and by changing your hand placement, you can create more intensity while increasing the challenge to really target your chest (2).
How to: With your feet together and hands shoulder width apart, make these the only points of contact on the floor. Gently lower to the ground, bending at the elbow until your chest is hovering about an inch or two off the ground. Drive through your hands and push back up to the starting position.
Dumbbell Chest Press
This is a perfect bench press alternative and one to offer you the same, if not very similar, benefits to the bench press. The only real difference is that you are using dumbbells as opposed to a barbell, and for beginners, this can be easier to deal with in terms of both grip and weight. With dumbbells, you engage other muscles as well.
How to: Lie on a bench with the dumbbells extended out in front of you. As you lower the dumbbells towards your chest, really think about engaging your core as you stay stable. Once at the bottom, drive through your feet and push that weight back to the starting position.
Cable Chest Press
This will force you to use the entire core, as well as upper and lower body muscles. Since this is done on the cable machine, working with different angles and focusing on certain areas of movement will allow the stabilizer muscles to get work done as well.
How to: Taking the handles in each hand, step one foot in front of the other with a bit wider of a stance. With your hands on either side of the chest, drive through with an embraced core until your arms are fully extended. Return to the starting position in a controlled way.
Dips
These may not be ones to expect on a bench press alternative list and while they aren’t necessary a direct correlation like some of these other exercises, dips are still great to know, especially for those of us still doing bodyweight exercises (3). While this is mainly a triceps focused movement, you do get some slight chest work done, but what you really benefit from is the utilization of your shoulders and triceps, both of which are essential in the bench press.
How to: With a neutral grip, set yourself up on the bar or whatever you are performing the dips on. Lower yourself, keeping your elbows tucked tight and not lowering too far. Once you’re at your lowest point, engage the pecs, brace your core, and lift yourself until your arms are fully straight.
Dumbbell Fly
The dumbbell fly is a nice way to get the most out of your chest while also providing for a good stretch. It can also target your shoulders and upper back but is of course a more chest focused exercise. Being smart with the weight is key for going to heavy can lead to unwanted pain.
How to: Lie on the bench with a dumbbell in each hand. Extend your arms so the weight is above your chest. Slowly fan out to either side, dropping your arms more horizontally until they form a 90-degree angle with your body. Once you reach your max level, bring the weights back in the same arc you lowered them in.
Wrap Up
The bench press is staple exercise in many athletes’ routines, but for some, it is hard to find access. With this list of the best bench press alternative exercises, you will find a serious boost in all things related to strength, size, support, and stability, especially with those massive pecs you’ve been searching for. Try some of these alternatives and really see what they can do for you today.
Let us know what you think in the comments below. Also, be sure to follow Generation Iron on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
*Images courtesy of Envato
References
Tungate, Phil (2019). “The Bench Press: A Comparison Between Flat-Back and Arched-Back Techniques”. (source)
Contreras, Bret; Schoenfeld, Brad; Mike, Jonathan; Tiryaki-Sonmez, Gul; et al. (2012). “The Biomechanics of the Push-up: Implications for Resistance Training Programs”. (source)
Langton, Becky; King, John (2018). “Utilizing Body Weight Training With Your Personal Training Clients”. (source)
Bodybuilding legend Frank Zane wants those to focus on symmetry rather than size.
Frank Zanecontinues to have a great mind for fitness and is active in the gym to this day. He has spoken about the status of bodybuilding in this era and recently spoke against adding size because of the impact it could have on symmetry and proportion.
During his career, Frank Zane became known for his battles with the likes of Arnold Schwarzenegger. He took home a Mr. America and Mr. Universe title in 1968 to go along with his three Olympias. Even though he is decades out of competition, Zane still has the mind and motivation to not only train himself but to share his knowledge with the next generation.
In a recent interview, Zane spoke on steroids during his time in bodybuilding and the dangers of them today. On Monday, he took to Instagram to share a post giving advice on adding muscle.
Frank Zane Warns Not To Forget Symmetry
During his career, Frank Zane built a physique that was aesthetically pleasing because of its combination of size and conditioning. He was extremely proportioned and shredded. Zane still believes that bodybuilders should focus on symmetry over size.
“Do not be in such a hurry to gain weight that you ruin your symmetry and proportions. Weight gained quickly goes primarily to big muscle groups like thighs, butt, pecs – all centrally located. Building mass to extremities like calves and forearms helps with a more aesthetic look.”
The Men’s Open division has become focused on size as competitors try to gain as much mass as possible while keeping a strong condition. According to Frank Zane, that very conditioning and proportion is the name of the game. When adding muscle and size, it is important to focus on the biggest factors that can impact scores on stage.
Here’s everything you need to know about frog squats, including how to do them and the benefits.
Mimicking the way one amphibian—frog—moves will build you monster thighs and glutes. The frog squat is an effective lower-body exercise that helps to improve your strength, flexibility, and range of motion. It’s excellent for building hip strength and flexibility, preventing injuries, and improving performance in other exercises like lunges and squats.
The frog squat also stretches your inner thighs, which can help reduce pain associated with tight leg muscles. This move is worth trying out if you want to improve hip mobility or knee stability while simultaneously strengthening your lower body!
The frog squat takes its name from how you move while doing it—it’s similar to how a frog moves across the ground. The position requires you to sit back onto your heels with knees bent and feet turned outwards; this creates tension in the hips that allows you to “squat” as a frog would.
So keep reading to learn more about the muscles involved in this movement, how to do them, and the benefits of adding them to your leg routine.
Frog Squat Technique and Muscles Worked
Frog squats are lower-body exercises that target your glutes (primary muscle targeted), thighs, calves, and inner thighs. Since it’s done in a wider stance, it engages more of your glutes (1). And since it doesn’t directly target your lower back—because of the wider stance—frog squats can be done often without worrying about causing injury if you have an existing injury to your lower back.
To do a frog squat:
Stand upright with your feet wider than shoulder-width apart and your toes pointing 45 degrees outward.
Push your hips back and squat down as far as you can comfortably go (shoot for making your thighs go past parallel).
Push your hips back and raise your glutes halfway up. (Your torso should be close to parallel with the ground.
Lower your glutes back down and repeat.
Tip
During the frog squat, keeping your knees perpendicular to your toes throughout the move is essential so you don’t strain them. If you allow your knees to cave inwards, go outwards, or come forward, you risk straining them.
If you need to figure out how far back and down to point your knees during the frog squat, try this: stand with your feet about shoulder-width apart and bend forward at the waist until your upper body is parallel to the floor (or even lower). Now imagine doing a squat with no weight on your shoulders.
In this position, notice how much bending occurs in both directions from an upright standing position. It’s precisely this amount of bend that should happen when performing the frog squat, too.
Benefits
Improve Strength, Flexibility, and Mobility
The frog squat is a lower-body exercise that can help to improve your strength and flexibility. The wider stance of this movement greatly enhances your hip mobility and flexibility. In addition, it helps to stretch the hip flexors and adductors, which commonly get tight from sitting or being inactive.
But the frog squat isn’t just a stand-alone exercise. It can also be used as a warm-up to help prepare you for other hip-dominant exercises, such as lunges and squats. In addition, the stretch in your hip flexors and adductors makes it easier for you to perform those exercises and provide support for your joints.
Plus, improving your flexibility in the hips will help with other exercises that require good mobility in that area—like deadlifts or kettlebell swings. And it’ll help you get a deeper depth on squats.
Reduce Injury Risk
Since the frog squat is an excellent exercise for improving your range of motion, strength, and flexibility in your hips, it could reduce injury risk. In addition, improving your hip mobility helps to prevent injury and aid in recovery from back injuries (2).
The frog squat allows you to strengthen your hips in a flexed position. This is important because most people with tight hips experience pain or discomfort when reaching or bending over to pick up an item from the floor.
Even after you’ve strengthened your hips, there are still other ways that injuries can occur during everyday activities, including lifting bags of groceries or climbing stairs. However, if your muscles are flexible enough to allow for proper form when performing these tasks without straining them too much, then they should be able to handle the added stress without causing injury.
Frog Squat Alternatives
Here are some other movements that provide similar benefits.
Pulse Squats
The pulse squats are similar to the frog squat since it requires you to keep tension on your thighs through each rep. And they also need you to remain in the bottom portion of the squat similarly.
Dumbbell Sumo Squat
This is another similar exercise since the dumbbell sumo squat requires you to get into a wider-than-shoulder-width stance and your toes to be pointed out, strengthening your glutes.
Goblet Squat
The goblet squat is another variation that engages the muscles in your lower body—glutes, hamstrings, quads—and challenges your balance and core since you need to hold weight in your hands during the movement.
FAQs
Here are some frequently asked questions (FAQs) to remember when attempting the frog squat.
What is the frog squat good for?
This exercise is excellent for strengthening the lower body, especially the glutes, and improving hip flexibility and mobility.
Is the frog squat safe?
Yes, because you don’t have to use weight and it protects your lower back, it’s a safer alternative to other lower body exercises like weighted squats.
What muscles do the frog squat work?
This movement engages the muscles in your lower body—hip, hamstrings, quads, glutes, and calves.
More Exercise Guides
The frog squat is excellent for targeting your glutes and improving hip mobility. Check out some of our other exercise guides:
Share this article on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter to help others learn the benefits of this exercise!
References
Paoli, A., Marcolin, G., & Petrone, N. (2009). The effect of stance width on the electromyographical activity of eight superficial thigh muscles during back squat with different bar loads. Journal of strength and conditioning research, 23(1), 246–250. https://doi.org/10.1519/jsc.0b013e3181876811
Konrad, A., Močnik, R., Titze, S., Nakamura, M., & Tilp, M. (2021). The Influence of Stretching the Hip Flexor Muscles on Performance Parameters. A Systematic Review with Meta-Analysis. International journal of environmental research and public health, 18(4), 1936. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18041936
