Troubleshooting Your Squat
There can be many reasons why you’re not feeling satisified with your squat including issues with range of motion, pushing up from the “hole” (the lowest point of your squat), wrist or neck pain, and ankle and knee stability. If you’re feeling stuck doing the same kind of squat, it can help to switch things up. Try a different bar position, different footwear, a different type of squat, or a different weight to see if it helps resolve your problems.
Underused Movements - The Viper Press/Muscle Snatch
The viper press/muscle snatch are similar exercises that strengthen and build muslce in key parts of the body like the shoulders, back, and traps. Although not suitable for beginners or casual exercisers, the viper press/muscle snatch can be very beneficial for strength athletes like powerlifters, olympic weightlifters, and CrossFitters.
Simplicity Is King, and Muscle Confusion Is Garbage
In general, you’ll get better results from following a simpler routine more consistently, rather than constantly varying and changing your routine. Fad workout routines based around “muscle confusion” can work, but will generally provide you inferior results to simpler and more consistent routines. Serious lifting athletes rely on ideal the routines and strategies which have been developed over the years, and focus on practicing a small number of movements repeatedly, rather than constantly varying movements.
Why Is The Trap Bar Deadlift Superior?
The trap bar deadlift is a deadlift making use of the specialty trap bar/hex bar. This lift has some unique benefits and disadvantages compared to the traditional deadlift. Interestingly, it’s probably more useful than the traditional deadlift for most people, but that won’t stop most people from continuing to use the straight bar deadlift anyway.
How Widespread Is Steroid Use?
Steroids use is widespread, but certainly not total. Steroid use also carries significant health risks. Different pressures will lead to different levels of adoption - relevance to your sport, legality, and economic incentives all have an impact on how willing people are to use steroids, and how likely they are to be willing to discuss their usage. Still, this should not impact your personal decision-making too much - regardless of whether or not someone else is using, this doesn’t impact what you need to do to make progress in your own training.