Garage Blog

The Zercher Squat, and its derivative exercises, are named after Ed Zercher dating back almost a century ago to the 1930s. He invented the Zercher squat out of necessity. The gym the dude worked out at did not have a squat rack and the Steinborn Squat was apparently not part of his repertoire. Information didn’t travel quite the way it does today.

Picture this- you…. walking around with mini-VW Beetles popping on the back of your legs. You know, that spot right where your hamstring is. Instead of a smooth piece of flesh, you have what can be compared to a punch buggy bulging. Even better, that bulging flesh doesn't only look good, but it contributes and oftentimes can be responsible for your impressive performance in the gym, it is contributing to your leg shape and helps you be a functional human in a world where strong is a superpower.

The posterior chain is a helluva muscle group and is given a lot of training precedent in our strength training app, Peak Strength. Including the upper body, the entirety of the musculature plays a pivotal role in all things pulling, from the traps to the lats, through the spinal erectors into the glutes, cascading down through the hamstrings into the calves. The posterior chain is quite the collection of muscles needed to coordinate as a highly functional team to drive athletic performance.

More power. More Strength. More aesthetically pleasing. Say no more, fam. A strong back translates into so much. A stronger back means a stronger pull, more stable squats, and potentially even a better bench. If you want to get better at sports, become the strongest version of you and even want to improve your physical shape–your back is often the foundation of most of these things. But a strong back doesn’t have to mean only doing your typical lat pull downs, pull ups and barbell rows.

Boulder shoulders are hard to hide behind the baggiest of clothing. They give you a broad physique that widens tailored sports jackets and causes your sleeves to go missing in the summer. The most oversized hoodies can’t keep such granite shoulders cloaked in anonymity.

The forearms don’t particularly come to mind when we think of muscles that make for better athletes. Our minds tend to race toward more powerful quads, a dominant posterior chain, or a torso with boulder shoulders and supreme dynamic trunk control. But the forearms? What in tarnation do they have anything to do with strength training for athletes?

Lifting with the upper body is a primal feeling of strong. There is nothing that sells, “I lift weights” to a non-gym goer like broad shoulders, a wide back, and arms like bazookas. Typical bodybuilder type of stuff. Typical powerlifter type of stuff. Typical weightlifter type of stuff. The type of strength that can be developed using our strength training app, Peak Strength. But not all strong physiques are created equal.

One of the worst feelings as a running back is being able to see the edge and not being able to get there. Failure to make the play and outpace the scraping linebacker is a horrible feeling. Having the capability to get to the sideline, turn the corner, and scamper up the sideline to take it to the house is paramount to being an elite running back.

MMA fighters are ANIMALS! In order to become a beast in the cage, you need to train to be faster, stronger, and outlast your opponent.

This is a sport of mental resilience and physical perfection in order to compete at the highest level. The work you do in the gym is going to directly affect the performance on the competition mat.

Athletes come in a variety of limb lengths. Short legs, long legs, big wingspans, small wingspans, short torsos, and long torsos. The builds vary, but one thing tends to stick out. Athletes are ripped, jacked, sleek, and have body’s that showcase their lean muscle mass.

The best athletes in the world often have six-pack abs, rippling musculature through their arms, and top shelf booties. The cool thing is, all of this musculature contributes to their athletic capabilities.

Bodybuilders have dominated the world of strength and conditioning for decades. Some people argue that bodybuilding doesn’t even make you s...

Who doesn’t like a swole push day? An opportunity to increase tricep size, get those pecs nice and juicy, and develop athletic skills that ...