Topic
Deadlift & Hex Bar.
613 articles
Trap-bar, straight-leg, and conventional pulling. The BFS Magazine archive holds 613 articles on Deadlift & Hex Bar, published from 1980 to 2024 — coaching how-tos, athlete profiles, and program stories drawn from five decades of the magazine.
Recurring themes include Deadlift, Squat, Football, and Bench Press. Coaches and writers featured here include Dr. Greg Shepard, Kim Goss, and Greg Shepard. Every story is free — read it online or open the original magazine layout as a PDF.
The Straight Leg Dead Lift for Athletic Success
In addition to advising athletes to use the BFS 1-2-3-4 stretching program, we recommend all athletes perform the straight-leg deadlift as an auxiliary exercise. Unlike the Hex bar deadlift, which develops strength and requires the use of heavy weights, we think of the straightleg deadlift as a stretching exercise, and therefore only very light weights are used. And we can’t emphasize this point enough.
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Hex Bar Advantages
The question of whether the hex bar deadlift is better than the straight bar deadlift depends on individual goals, biomechanics. Both variations of the deadlift have their advantages and can be effective in different ways. Here are some reasons why BFS prefers the hex bar deadlift over the straight bar deadlift...
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Dead Lift Tips
Dead Lift Tips There is absolutely no question about the dead lift It is a misunderstood lift. The dead lift can be a coach's most valuable motivational tool. However, many coaches fear lower back pain. Many mistakes can be made which cause this problem. Starting with The Six Absolutes of Perfect Technique we have written several articles about spotting and our book, posters, and magazine describe how to spot to keep the weight back on the lifter's heels to prevent lower back pain. Here are three more tips which should prove valuable.
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A Closer Look at the Hex Bar Deadlift
The Hex bar deadlift is a deadlift performed with a hexagonal barbell that allows the lifter to perform exercises from inside the encompassing bar. Handgrips strategically placed on the two ends of the bar enable the weight on the bar to be in perfect alignment with the power line at all times.
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3 Critical Deadlift Tips
Practical advice on the best way to get strong with this powerful exercise There is absolutely no question about it: The deadlift is the most misunderstood lift in America today. Many coaches tell me they are concerned that it can cause lower back pain, and certainly there are several deadlifting mistakes that can cause this problem. Here are three valuable tips to help athletes deadlift more weight and perform the exercise safely: Tip 1. Only perform low reps. To perform more than 5 reps in the deadlift, especially in the 10-rep category, is asking for serious trouble. The maximum number of heavy reps that should ever be attempted in the deadlift is 5.
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Think Twice about Romanian Deadlifts
Despite advanced sports medicine care and the best-of-the-best coaching staffs, there were a reported 45 hamstring injuries during the first three weeks of the 2019 NFL season! For over four decades, BFS has taken a multi-faceted approach to prevent hamstring injuries. In addition to a stretching program that addresses both hamstring and hip flexor tightness, the BFS program includes many weight room exercises that strengthen the hamstrings, including glute-ham raises, hex bar (or straight-bar) deadlifts, squats, straight-leg deadlifts, and Olympic lifting movements such as cleans. Why so much attention to a single muscle group? Besides helping to prevent injuries, hamstring development is critical for improving speed.
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HEX BAR Revelations
The relative safety of the hex bar is one reason why the US Army recently decided to include it in the new version of their combat readiness assessment. In October 2020, the hex bar deadlift, along with five other tests, will replace the previous three-event combat readiness assessment instituted in 1980. The Army’s initial research on the hex bar deadlift involved 500 military personnel -- there was not a single injury, despite the soldiers giving it their all. The initial plan is for up to 40,000 soldiers to be introduced to the hex bar before the launch date.
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Dominate with the Hex Bar Deadlift!
When BFS began doing clinics over 40 years ago, we taught that the three powerlifts, along with the power clean, were key to success in a unified program. We still believe that, but with one change – we found that the hex bar deadlift is superior to
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HEX BAR for PEAK POWER
As the popularity of the hex bar continues to grow, so has the number of research studies extolling its effectiveness.
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The Science of Hex Bar Deadlifts
As the popularity of the hex bar continues to grow, so has the number of research studies extolling its effectiveness. The lasts appeared in the January 2018 issue of the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research
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Hex Bar for Athletic Superiority
Forty years ago the deadlift was one of the core exercises we encouraged athletes to perform year-round. BFS pushed this great core exercise in our early years because it was unparalleled in developing the glutes, hamstrings, and lower back. We still believe that, but the fact is that we soon played less emphasis on it because we found something better.
Read4 Minutes with the Straight Leg Deadlift
The Straight Leg Deadlift is a recommended auxiliary lift in the BFS Total Program. Essential for building range of motion and speed this lift is often misunderstood. While it does build strength the primary goal is to build speed and flexibility. Measuring your results should be kept track of on the "sit and reach" flexibility test
ReadThe Basics Help Timpview Win! “The BFS core lifts are the most important exercises for football: power cleans, squats, deadlifts, and bench presses,” Cary Whittingham
Fred Whittingham was a coach for the Los Angeles Rams from 1982-1991, his son Kyle is the head football coach for the University of Utah Utes, and Kyle’s younger brother Cary is the head coach for the Timpview High School Thunderbirds in Provo, Utah. This is Ca
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Balance of Power
In this remarkable sequence of photos taken by Pam Tabone, Myles McKinney demonstrates tremendous jumping power. McKinney is the starting tailback and leading receiver at Churchville-Chili, a high school near Rochester, New York, which was featured in our September/October 2007 i
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Strong Beginnings: Amber Moss
One of the distinguishing aspects of today’s best athletes is that they tend to get an early start with sport skills and also conditioning. This trend prevails in women’s sports as well as in men’s – and one young woman who is benefiting from early sports preparation is Amber Mos
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More Than a Game
A Message from BFS Editor Kim Goss, MS for that award, but he got back on track in the NFL. In his rookie season Peterson set the NFL single-game rushing record (296 yards), and the records kept coming, including his becoming the third-fastest player to reach 10,000 rushing yards
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ACL Injuries and Women: What Coaches Need to Know
The incidence of ACL injuries in young women is a serious problem today. Depending upon the sport, women are far more likely than men to injure their ACL. In fact, it’s estimated that one out of 10 NCAA women will tear their ACL at some point in their college career – despite the
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The Davis Twins: Defying the Odds
Barrett and Mary Catherine Davis are athletic twins who started weight training in middle school to help them become better athletes. Not only did they have a head start pumping iron many years before most coaches would consider allowing a young athlete in the weightroom, they ha
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Olympic Legends: The Dufour-Lapointe Sisters
An unprecedented highlight of the 2014 Olympics was seeing the three Dufour-Lapointe sisters, Justine, Chloé and Maxime, dominate in mogul skiing. Justine won gold, Chloé came away with silver, and Maxime, the oldest at age 25, rounded out the trio by finishing an impressive 12th
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Upgrade Your Coaching with the Six Absolutes
In the coaching profession there is an overwhelming amount of information available about biomechanics. If you want to know the optimal position of your thumbs at the start of a 40-yard dash, you could probably find some research study on it. Although these details are important
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Boot Camp and Strongman Training on a Budget
Training and Equipment BXI racks and rigs are built with primarily 3-inch x 3-inch steel tubing for maximum durability. Boot Camp and Strongman Training on a Budget The BXI line of rigs and racks is revolutionizing an industry At the college level, strength coaches often purchase
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Multisport Powerhouse Sesely Omli
football and strength coach, Terry King. “Sesely is an amazing talent.” What makes this high school senior so impressive? Sesely is, first of all, a student-athlete. She carries a 3.96 GPA and plans to attend college to study kinesiology and dietetics. She also is involved in man
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BFS Goes Viral
A Message from BFS Editor Kim Goss, MS vide free, downloadable PDF files of every article exactly as they appeared in the magazine. We’ve heard from countless coaches who make many of these articles “bulletin board” material, along with health science instructors who use BFS arti
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2014 BFS High School Female Athlete of the Year
Female Athlete of the Year Abby Lealaimatafao is the winner of our most prestigious award With athletic benchmarks being established every day in our high schools, it’s extremely difficult for students to excel at the state level in any single sport. It’s even more exceptional to
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Build a Better Weightroom
Weightroom How to design weightrooms that look good and do good ou only pay for quality once!” is an essential motto for anyone who is designing a weightroom. After all, if you purchase poor-quality equipment, it will require more maintenance and will need to be replaced sooner.
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The BFS Off-Season Workout
Regarding basketball, if you just went by the physiques of players from several decades ago, especially in the NBA, you would think that you were looking at a different sport. Gone are the days of teams comprised of a tall, lanky center supported by four smaller, quicker teammate
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11 Practical Ways to Increase You Athletes' Vertical Jump
The power clean is considered a vertical jump with weights, so it’s a great exercise for improving an athlete’s vertical jump. Shown here is University of Florida’s Devon Walker, a 6-foot-6-inch sophomore for the Gator Basketball Team. As a high school senior, he was the Winter H
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Protein Powder Gets an Upgrade
If you’re serious about playing on the gridiron, you need high-quality protein – and lots of it! A new protein powder that helps athletes achieve physical superiority ince BFS was founded in 1976 our focus has been on strength, conditioning and character education. It still is, b
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Power Weight Training
A look back at the basic ideas that have made BFS so successful for nearly four decades BY DR. GREG SHEPARD, BFS FOUNDER 3KRWRE\%UXFH.OHPHQV Mike McDonald is a powerlifter who during the ’70s held world records in the bench press in four different bodyweight categories at the
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Training Smarter at Mountain View High School
wo years ago BFS magazine featured Mountain View High School, a D4 school in Orem, Utah, that has won 84 state championships and earned the title of “Utah Sports Program of the Century.” Some Mountain View graduates have competed in the Olympics, and some have gone on to play in
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The Truth About Functional Training
TRAINING & EQUIPMENT 3KRWRVE\%UXFH.OHPHQV Muscle size is not necessarily an indicator of muscle function. Indonesia’s Erwin Abdullah and Bulgaria’s Yoto Yotov both competed in the lightweight (about 150 pounds) bodyweight division. Abdullah snatched 314 pounds and clean and j
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BFS High School Female Athlete of the Year
3KRWRE\&KULVWLQD:DOO&KULVWLQD:DOO3KRWRJUDSK\ZZZFKULVWLQDZDOOFRP Athlete of the Year Selena Haas is the recipient of our most prestigious award oung people face many distractions today, and sometimes their academics and sports take a back seat. Selena Haas is one amazin
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Keeping up with the Carters
At Bloomfield High School, Mike Carter Jr. was a multisport athlete who excelled at football playing quarterback and at baseball playing centerfield. Keeping up with the Carters How BFS helped high school baseball player Mike Carter Jr. earn his college scholarship t takes great co
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Weightroom 101: Olympic Plates
hen it comes to sports equipment and training, good coaches always emphasize the importance of the basics. For a weightroom those basics include Wbars, plates and platforms. Beyond those, if your department budget permits, there is a place for machines; they are especially valuab
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Low Back Training for Athletes
TRAINING & EQUIPMENT %UXFH.OHPHQVSKRWR John Kuc was a three-time IPF world powerlifting champion (1974, 79, 80) in the 242-pound bodyweight class. He was the first man to deadlift 850 pounds and had a best of 870 pounds. Training for Athletes For a powerful core, bring the ere
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The Rise of Youth
Youth A look back at how BFS can help young athletes catch the vision of athletic success Difference It has never been easier to win! BY DR. GREG SHEPARD, BFS FOUNDER A hands-on coach during his career, Dr. Greg Shepard believes that perfect technique is essential for athletic su
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Neck Training: The BFS Approach
Weightlifting and powerlifting are sports that develop the muscles of the neck and trapezius. Shown are Olympic champion David Rigert from Russia and powerlifting world champion Marv Phillips. Why training these muscles is more important than ever BY KIM GOSS, MS he movie poster
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BFS Goes to the Arnold
WHAT’S HAPPENING 3KRWRVE\6WHYH)DXHUZZZIDXHUSKRWRUHÁHFWFRP BFS Goes to the Arnold The Arnold Weightlifting Championships were held on March 1-3, and in attendance this year were BFS editor Kim Goss and BFS scholarship winner Brittanie Mastricola. Mastricola not only made
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Stop Hamstring Pulls
Now! Stop Hamstring Pulls 10 tips to prevent this frustrating injury BY KIM GOSS, MS t the Olympic Trials in track and field, an athlete must finish in the top three in their event to earn a spot on the Olympic Team – finishing fourth is essentially equivalent to placing last. At
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Forgotten Secrets to Improving Lateral Speed
TRAINING & EQUIPMENT %HFN\0LOOHU3KRWR Lateral speed is a key ingredient in many sports, even those performed on ice by skaters. Shown are Michelle Hyselle of the MedCity Mafia roller derby team pulling ahead of the Moose Lake Mafia; and football player Eric Corona of Fruitand Hi
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The BFS Difference
Here is Coach Shepard spotting a heavy squat when he was a strength coach at BYU. note: Although this article week developing their bench press by The BFS on the(Editor’s origins of Coach Shepard’s training doing many exercises and sets because Difference It has never been easier
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Three-Peat State Champions Ithaca High School
Ithaca High School Insight into a great football program that went 42-0! uild it and they will come,” that memorable line from the film Field of Dreams, brings to mind what happened at Ithaca High School in Michigan. In 2012 the school finished a $1 million renovation on their fo
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Tottenville Highs's Rise to Success
BFS clinician Ray Cosenza (left) with Tottenville’s head football coach, Jim Munson. Since adopting the BFS program, the football team at Tottenville High School (Staten Island, New York) has built a 41-6 record. BFS clinician Ray Cosenza, Jr., has worked with head coach Jim Muns
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Frequently Asked Questions about BFS
BFS is a company dedicated to helping young people succeed on and off the athletic field. about BFS Information for our readers about the company and its program FS is a unified program designed to get all the coaches in a school working together to improve the overall physical an
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Don't Let the Deadlift Die
BY KIM GOSS, MS 3KRWRE\.DULP*KRQHP3ROLTXLQ3HUIRUPDQFH A former strength coach at Miami University of Ohio, Ryan Faehnle is a strength coach who still “walks the talk” by staying in shape with heavy deadlifts. ften a specific weight training exercise is associated with o
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Power Clean Problems and How to Fix Them
How to Fix Them Easy coaching tips to get the most out of this great exercise BY KIM GOSS, MS 3KRWRE\%UXFH.OHPHQV n a perfect world, middle school athletes would begin with the BFS Readiness Program. They would learn how to stretch, run, lift and spot properly. By the time the
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Ryan Faehnle: Walking the Talk
Aformer strength coach at Miami University of Ohio, Ryan Faehnle was struggling with his power clean form and decided to try something different. So in October he switched from a conventional starting stance to a frog stance. With the frog stance, an athlete begins with the heels
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The Science of Strength Curves
Strength Curves The evolution of variable resistance training Kristel Ngariem shows how to vary resistance in squats by using lifting chains. Ngariem represented Canada in the 2012 Junior World Championships, where she placed 12th with an 83-kilo snatch and 104-kilo clean and jer
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Monitoring Athletes for Physical Superiority
n weightlifting and powerlifting it’s natural to assume that the athletes who lift the most weight have the best training program. At the last two Olympics in weightlifting, the Chinese lifters dominated both men’s and women’s lifting, so obviously they know what they are doing.
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The Evolution of Athletic Training Programs
Editor’s note: Although this article on the origins of Coach Shepard’s training methods was written 16 years ago, the ideas are still relevant today.) op coaches who desire state-ofthe-art strength and conditioning programs must be acutely aware of the importance of a total progr
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Girl Power at Leesburg High
Sydney McWilliams and Kendra Young have turned themselves into legitimate state-level weightlifters – and have the medals to prove it! Girl Power at Leesburg High A powerful program for strong women BY COACH JOSH BOYER t Leesburg High School I teach weight training and also coach
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Womens's Training vs. Mens's Training
vs. Men’s Training 0DU\3LHU*DXGHWSKRWRE\.DULP*KRQHP3ROLTXLQ3HUIRUPDQFH Important findings on how to coach women to achieve physical superiority BY PAUL GAGNÉ, STRENGTH COACH AND POSTUROLOGIST hose of us who watched the televised gymnastics competitions of the London O
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The Look of a Champion
Team BFS athlete Chloe Van Tussenbroek, ready to train in customized athletic wear. ne thing is obvious from watching the Olympics – it’s not only important to perform well, you’ve got to look good while you’re doing it. With the eyes of the world watching, Olympians from every c
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Power Balance Drills Revisited
Overhead lifting is often avoided by many athletes due to shoulder injuries. Nikki Gnozzio was a Division I college field hockey player at Ohio University and is now a full-time weightlifter for Team BFS. Correct round shoulders with variations of these powerful exercises BY KIM G
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A few Words with David Lawrence
David Lawrence A look at this young strength coach’s rapid rise to success Lawrence working with Nick Bellore, a linebacker for the New York Jets. At the Jets’ camp this year Bellore, who has deadlifted 605 pounds for 6 reps, received his team’s “Defensive Lifting Award” for his
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Records fall at Power Clean Championships
Las Vegas has earned another nickname: Power Clean City! On May 12th, strong male and female high school athletes from across the country came to Bonanza High School in Las Vegas to compete in the 10th Annual National High School Power Clean Championships. As happens every year t
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The Right Track
BFS PROGRAM BFS Vice President John Rowbotham is carrying on Coach Shepard’s vision of teaching young athletes the right way to lift for physical superiority. The Right Track Timeless insight into the most effective way to train young athletes BY DR. GREG SHEPARD, BFS FOUNDER/CEO
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2012 BFS High School Female Athlete of the Year
Female Athlete of the Year Jessica Marie Staggs is one powerful young woman 3KRWR -LP(OOLV0LDPL1HZV5HFRUG 2NODKRPD hat do cheerleading, track and field, basketball, powerlifting and academic excellence have in common? Answer: Jessica Marie Staggs, the recipient of our annu
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How Olympians Train: US Skiing and Snowboarding
FOR WOMEN ONLY 0DOFROP&DUPLFKDHO$OSLQH&DQDGDSKRWR Stacey Cook finished last season ranked 10th in the world in downhill skiing. How Olympians Train: US Skiing and Snowboarding An exclusive interview with strength coach Ernie Rimer BY LAANNA CARRASCO, MA rnie Rimer is a stren
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The Do-It-All Solution to Weightroom Design
Design The practical solution for training large groups of athletes hen it comes to training tools for athletes and anyone interested in physical fitness, strength and conditioning, there are limitless choices. Many of these devices can be extremely valuable – others, not so much
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Free Weights 101: The Power Rack
lthough strength coaches are always looking for the next big thing to give their athletes an edge, they must consider that some pieces of equipment will never go out of style. One such item is the power rack. Sure, there are many accessories Athat can be added to a power rack, su
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What's Your Goal?
During Be an 11 clinics, Coach Shepard has teams work to determine their goals and establish an action plan to achieve them. What’s Your Goal? Timeless insight into a proven mindset and training philosophy for success (Editor’s note: Although this article for coaches was written
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Answering the Critics: The Back Squat
BY KIM GOSS, MS ver since BFS was founded in 1976, we have been promoting the back squat as a core exercise for athletes – but it hasn’t been easy. On occasion the medical community has discouraged its use, thinking it was harmful to the knees and could stunt a young athlete’s gr
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How Women Athletes Should Eat
An interview with body composition expert Francine Savard chieving an optimal bodyweight and bodyfat level is a major concern among young women athletes, as well as for young women in general. Unfortunately, there is so much misinformation circu- Savard was a national champion in
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2011 BFS High School of the Year
High School of the Year How Dulaney High embraced the principles of the BFS Total Program BY LAANNA CARRASCO, MA eenagers who become physically fit and happier will always be a great thing to see. That’s what the students at Dulaney High School in Timonium, Maryland, have become
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What's Happening
FROM THE EDITOR A Message from BFS Editor in Chief Kim Goss, MS That’s Why They Play the Game! Every summer I head to the local bookstore and pick day this magazine reaches your mailbox, those predictions up several of the college football preview magazines might not hold up. One
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The Dark Side of Sports
Why parents and schools must take action now about this serious issue n the animal kingdom, predators go after the weakest prey. When stalking a band of gorillas, lions don’t face off against the alpha male who could put up a good fight; they are more likely to go after the babie
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Hex Bar Squat Jumps for Ultimate Power
Jumping with a hex bar is biomechanically more specific than jumping with a barbell resting on the shoulders. Shown performing a squat jump is Lusia Angilau, a member of the women’s volleyball team at Southern Utah. Angilau appeared on our Sep/Oct 2009 cover, and had a 27.1 inch v
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Rediscover the Overhead Press
Overhead Press Why you should take a stand with upper body strength training with these important exercises ne of the events in strongman competitions is the log press, which involves hoisting a log-shaped cylinder to the shoulders and then pressing it to extended arms. The world
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A Closer Look at the 10-8-6 Program
10-8-6 Program Understanding the fourth week of the set-rep system BFS clinician Paula Davis double-checks the workout log of one of her athletes. he BFS Set-Rep System is designed to provide the optimal balance of structure and variety to ensure that athletes continue to break p
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How Good is Good?
BFS PROGRAM (Editor’s note: Having been involved with BFS for nearly a quarter of a century, I find it interesting that a lot of coaches I’ve talked to have kept every issue of BFS magazine. The reason is that much of the information, particularly the training physiology and idea
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What's Happening
FROM THE EDITOR A Message from BFS Editor in Chief Kim Goss, MS The Voice of Reason the standard by which you are measured professionally – it’s ne of the best things about being the editor of BFS your behavior in your profession. Let me put it another way: magazine is chatting w
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A New Slant on Back Training
TRAINING & EQUIPMENT The glute-ham raise combines a hip extension exercise with a knee extension exercise. A New Slant on Back Training A look at great, but often overlooked, back extension exercises WRegarding athletes, if you focus on the strength aspect of this theory, a weakn
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Bench Pressing for Athletes
here are barriers in sports that, when broken, establish the athlete’s name in history. In 1954 Roger Bannister of the United Kingdom was the first man to run a sub-four-minute mile, and Tin 1968 Jim Hines became the first man to break the 10-second barrier in the 100 meters. In
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The Research Confirms It The Hex Bar Rules!
The Hex Bar Rules! A new peer-reviewed study of deadlifts compares the hex bar to the straight bar ell, it took a while for the sport scientists to catch up to what we at BFS already knew, but the data is in: The hex bar deadlift is superior in just about every Wway to the straig
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Barbell Basics: The Power Rack
Rediscover this versatile training tool trength coaching has evolved into a profession in which there are professional organizations, peer-reviewed journals, national conventions, and coaches who make sixfigure salaries. But along the way, the profession experienced a rough patch
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Working with the Six Absolutes
Pound-for-pound, the best lifter of the 2011 National High School Power Clean Championships was CJ Fort. At a bodyweight of just 169.5 pounds, Fort lifted 315 pounds. A commitment to achieving perfect technique enables athletes to achieve such remarkable results. Six Absolutes Pr
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How to Develop Powerful Athletes
BY KIM GOSS, MS n comedian Eddie Izzard’s standup routine on martial arts, he notes that tai chi is not very effective for self-defense because it is “a little too slow.” Likewise, one of the reasons for Bruce Lee’s popularity was his incredible speed, and it was reported that fo
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Training to Win at River Ridge High
River Ridge High It was a banner season for these young women with the help of BFS iver Ridge High School is in Patch Grove, Wisconsin, and serves 210 students. This may not seem noteworthy until you understand that the student/teacher ratio is 13 to 1 and the school has a 98 per
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Positive Results with Negative Training
hen performing core BFS exercises such as the power clean, bench press and hex bar deadlift, your focus is on pulling and pressing the weights explosively. After all, speed is king in sports, and if you want to be faster and more powerful, you need to lift fast. But sometimes to
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Staying on Top at Mountain View
The Mountain View Bruins have won over 83 state championships in a wide variety of sports. This Utah high school has the right plan for athletic superiority ince it opened its doors three decades ago, Mountain View High School has made a powerful impact on the Utah sports scene.
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What's Happening
FROM THE EDITOR A Message from BFS Editor in Chief Kim Goss The Ethics of Service record. The result was that the corporate office refunded he following incident might not make the next ediall my labor costs and gave me two new tires, with the tion of the Be an 11 Guidebook, but
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Boot Camp Basics
lthough fancy gyms with high-tech treadmills and expensive selectorized machines with lots of bells and whistles are here to stay, the fastest growing trend in athletic and physical fitness is the smaller, hardcore “boot camp” gym. This type of training is called “functional,” as
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Rethinking the Deadlift
BY KIM GOSS, MS s with the squat and the bench press, the deadlift has been a staple in the workouts of serious athletes for many years. Football players, weightlifters and even bodybuilders frequently include this total body movement in their workouts. In fact, three decades ago
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Of Tribes and Triumphs
Coach Wade McGee (left) receiving Coeur d’Alene Tribe Chairman’s Award of Excellence from Chief Allen. hen Wade McGee came on board as a clinician at BFS, we felt blessed. His passion for helping young men and women achieve their goals, and his commitment to the BFS program and i
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WHATS HAPPENING
FROM THE EDITOR A Message from BFS Editor in Chief Kim Goss Road Trip! hockey players, as evidenced by a 319-pound power clean! ow that I live in Rhode Island, I’m aware that This issue of BFS is considered our college football the coming winter will turn the area into a giant is
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The Science and Practice of Training NHL Players
Coach Paul Gagné spotting Joe Rullier of the Boston Bruins. Training NHL Players How the best strength coaches train the best professional hockey players BY PAUL GAGNÉ, STRENGTH COACH AND POSTUROLOGIST ’m from Montreal, and we have a saying that the doctor has to watch their fing
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A Closer Look at Absolute #3
Absolute #3 A key teaching cue to help protect the lower back he strength training community tends to jump on new trends, thus changing the way athletes are trained as well as how a particular Tcoach is perceived in terms of identity and reputation. In the ’70s, static stretching
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Winton Woods: A BFS Journey
Winton Woods: 2009 State Champions! inton Woods High School initiated its football program in 1991, under legendary coach Lou Cykar and trusted assistant Dan Bamonte, when Forest Park High School and Greenhills High School merged. Since 1991, this school in Cincinnati, Ohio, has
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What's Happening
FROM THE EDITOR A Message from BFS Editor in Chief Kim Goss The Age of Ego have been in previous decades. In one major study of college ’ve had the opportunity to interview many coaches and students, one out of four students tested as having narcisphysical education instructors w
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Lifting Chains Revisited
Lifting Chains REVISTED A look at the ever increasing value of lifting chains in helping athletes achieve their physical potential BY KIM GOSS, MS f something works, there is really no reason to change it. The BFS program has been used to help create successful athletic programs
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A Closer Look at Absolute #2
To achieve maximum sprinting speed, athletes need to be tall, as shown here by this Santa Rita High School athlete. Absolute #2 Why this absolute is the key to good posture and athletic performance arents often tell their children that good posture involves standing or sitting up
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BFS Position Paper - Straight-Leg Dead Lift
Straight-Leg Deadlift The BFS perspective on a valuable stretching exercise long with the box squat, one of the most controversial exercises in the BFS program is the straightleg deadlift. And as with the box squat, the opposition to the straight-leg deadlift is not based upon fa
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2010 BFS High School Female Athlete of the Year
Female Athlete of the Year Amy Elizabeth Medina is a winner in all aspects of life here are many exceptional high school athletes in this country, and there are many exceptional students. The BFS Female High School Athlete of the Year is presented to a young woman who combines ex
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A New Look at Flexibility Training
TRAINING & EQUIPMENT 3KRWR 7LPHOHVV,PDJHV3KRWRJUDSK\ Flexibility Training A look at what’s inside the new BFS Flexibility Manual fter giving thousands of BFS clinics over the past three decades, we’ve found that stretching is the one component most often missing in an athlete’
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The BFS Weightroom Makeover
A great way to make over a weightroom is with new bars, bumpers, platforms, vertical bar holders and horizontal bumper plate racks. Weightroom Makeover How to make big improvements in your weightroom on a small budget ne of the popular themes in reality television is the makeover
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A Closer Look at Absolute #1
Absolute 1 Selecting the best stance; an athletic stance or a jump stance t’s the shoes!” is a popular advertising slogan that suggests there must be some special quality in a pair of athletic shoes that makes one athlete superior to another. It’s an effective slogan, no doubt, a
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A Closer Look at the Half Rack
The Half Rack with Platform is a basic piece of equipment for any strength and conditioning program. Half Rack How to pick the half rack that is perfect for you ower racks and lifting platforms are the heart of any weightroom. You can always tell if an athletic program is serious
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Pro Football Training with Mike Bystol
t’s always been a bit of a mystery what pro football players actually do to strength train. An occasional demo from a strength coach showing some unique exercise that he or she used in training a pro doesn’t provide much evidence. Is the current training of these athletes simply
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Six Absolutes Overview
isit the office of any high school coach who handles the strength training program of his or her athletes and often you’ll find basic concepts of biomechanics and feels no need for an occasional review, but more often it’s that the material is presented in a complex manner with S
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BFS Position Paper: The Box Squat
The Box Squat The BFS perspective on this valuable lower body exercise BFS clinician Roger Freeborn (red shirt) and Erich Mach (back spotter) teaching proper box squat form at a BFS clinic. he box squat is the most controversial lift in the BFS program and, for that matter, in we
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The Hunter High School Experiment
BY KIM GOSS, MS hen I moved to Salt Lake City in 2004 to work fulltime as the editor of BFS magazine, I eventually realized that in order to write competently about working with high school athletes, I would need to do some fieldwork. In 2007 I found the perfect learning environm
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Gridiron Rebels With a Cause
The 2009 season resulted in the Rebels’ best win-loss record in a decade. Berrien High School turned their team’s struggles to triumphs et’s get this straight from the start: Berrien High School in Nashville, Georgia, did not win one of its prestigious state championships this ye
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Staying Strong with BFS: McDonell Central High School
Staying Strong with BFS: McDonell Central High The Macks are on top of their game Quarterback Andy Davis hands off to Alex Hiess, who rushed for over 1,000 yards in the Macks’ 10-win season. hen you take over a program that is successful, major changes are usually the last thing
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Consumer's Guide to Power Racks
Want the heaviest-duty squat cage sold anywhere? The BFS Heavy-Duty Super Cage is 8 ½ feet tall and has massive, 3 x 3 11-gauge steel construction. Practical advice on selecting equipment that is perfect for your weightroom At what point did weightrooms start to look like the sta
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The History of the BFS Total Program for Athletes
Breaking personal records with perfect technique is key to the BFS Set/Rep system, as shown here in this photo taken at a BFS clinic. Total Program for Athletes Why BFS is still on top after 33 years BY DR. GREG SHEPARD, FOUNDER/CEO BFS You can’t argue with success. More than 9,0
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2009 BFS High School of the Year
BFS High School of the Year Aztec High School wins BFS’s prestigious award Aztec High School’s motto is “Where the crossroads of academic excellence and opportunity meet.” BFS concurs, and we are so impressed with Aztec High that we selected it as our 2009 BFS High School of the
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For Women Only: Hard-Core Fat Loss
TRAINING & EQUIPMENT Baylie Divino (left) and Makayla Betz (right) are Level 10 gymnasts posing in front of a hard-core training tool that can help make serious athletes lean, a BFS Push/Pull Sled. Alternative views on the fastest ways athletes can improve body composition BY KIM
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The BFS Five-Day Workout for Basketball
How to fine-tune the BFS program for basketball ILogan Aronhalt started the BFS program in the sixth grade and became the all-time leading scorer at Zanesville High School in Zanesville, Ohio. He now attends the University of Albany, where he plays guard and forward. f you just we
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The Space Saver Rack Solution
If there’s a best-kept secret in the exercise equipment industry, it would have to be BFS’s Space Saver Rack. Although many of our competitors have tried to copy our unique designs, no one has figured out how to come close to offering a heavyduty unit of this quality. The unique
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Develop Athletic Superiority with Contrast Training
The BFS Push/Pull Sled is ideal for performing contrast training, one of the most effective ways to improve running speed. How to use the science of motor learning to make athletes faster and more powerful BY KIM GOSS One of the first things I look at when I visit a coach is thei
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A Closer Look at the BFS Elite Half Racks
The BFS Elite Rack with Platform enables athletes to perform all the BFS core lifts and many auxiliary exercises in one place. BFS Elite Half Racks The BFS way to space-efficient weightrooms Prior to the creation of the strength coaching profession several decades ago, gyms usually
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Secrets of Speed: The BFS Push/Pull Sled
Running and resistance training are two basic components of virtually all sports conditioning programs, and one of the challenges to strength coaches is finding activities that do both at the same time. This concept is known as specificity of training. Specificity refers to worki
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The Answer for the Busy Coach: Computer-Aided Workouts
is divided into three categories: The Based on an athlete’s current n our current economy, schools are Ironman Ranking shows the athlete’s being forced to downsize personnel, maxes for each exercise, Knowley’s performance in the core lifts, while the software program sets up chal
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2009 BFS High School Female Athlete of the Year
Hannah Donnerberg is a country girl with a shining past and an even brighter future There are many factors that go into our selection of the BFS High School Female Athlete of the Year. The winner should excel at multiple sports, succeed academically, be of high character and work
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What's Happening
Ed Gowins Ed Gowins is a running back from Bellport High School on Long Island who was featured along with his championship team in the September/October 2006 issue of BFS in an article titled “Business As Usual at Bellport High.” In high school Gowins power cleaned 315, squatted
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Space Efficient Equipment: The BFS Solution
The major problem with our weightroom is that we just have too much open space,” is a comment we just don’t expect to hear from high school coaches. As a matter of fact, we’ve never heard anyone say this! Without question, every high school coach would like a bigger weightroom. A
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Training Secrets of Mixed Martial Arts Fighters
Mixed Martial Arts Fighters A backstage pass into the controversial world of this popular combat sport Mixed martial arts (MMA) is a combat sport that is unquestionably the fastest-growing spectator sport in the world. The Ultimate Fighting Championships were created in 1993, gen
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The BFS Five-Day Workout
Organization is key to any successful athletic program. One way that BFS helps coaches plan their athletes training is with hands-on clinics. Five-Day Workout A closer look at the classic BFS off-season and in-season workouts Failing to plan is planning to fail,” an expression cre
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The Next Step in Functional Training
With the help of some Photoshop magic, here are a few of the numerous exercises that can be performed on the BFS 4-Stack Functional Trainer. Functional Training How a revolutionary multi-use station can provide a solution to crowded weightrooms pace: the Final Frontier…” These wo
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