by Thomas Kurz Question: What resistance exercise, that I can do without a spotter, simulates a bench press? I am trying to develop my upper body. I am an extreme novice and know nothing about weightlifting. I would like to do an exercise that develops my chest. But I don’t like to work out with […]
Bench Press Alternatives Read More »
by Thomas Kurz People often ask me how to arrange their training programs, or simply in what order to do exercises for best results. As they ask these questions, they list the exercises they do. As soon as they tell me the bench press is a regular part of their training, even though they are
Bench Press: What It Does and Doesn’t Do Read More »
by Thomas Kurz In the preceeding articles (Questions and Answers on Strength Exercises and More Questions and Answers on Strength Exercises), I answered questions on the basic strength exercises—sit-ups, back extensions, deadlifts, and squats. My answers explained the reasons for building a foundation of strength with long sets of exercises using low resistance and—in the
Advantages of High Repetitions and Deep Breathing During Exercise Read More »
by Thomas Kurz In this article I continue answering questions on strength preparation for sports and martial arts training in general and for intense work on flexibility in particular. Question: Why do you advise doing such great numbers of repetitions for the abdominal exercises? Answer: The muscles of the abdomen have a major role in
More Questions and Answers on Strength Exercises Read More »
by Thomas Kurz In this article, I answer some questions on strength exercises from readers of my articles, my books, and my videos. Some of these questions are typical, asked by many people, and some are not but answers are educational nevertheless. Some ask about the rationale behind doing exercises in a certain way, others
Questions and Answers on Strength Exercises Read More »
by Thomas Kurz In the previous article on sports skills and strength training you were introduced to the concept of sport-specific strength exercises. In this article you will learn about the danger of an inappropriate use of such exercises. Danger of Early Specialization If sport-specific exercises are introduced too early in an athlete’s career, at
Sports Skills and Strength Training, Part VI Read More »
by Thomas Kurz In the previous articles on strength training you learned about the kinds of strength–from static strength to explosive strength. Apart from the type of strength that your exercises develop, you need to be concerned also with form and timing of movement. What matters is where (at which angle in the range of
Sports Skills and Strength Training, Part V Read More »
by Thomas Kurz In this installment on sports skills and strength training, you will learn how to develop explosive strength and how to select plyometric exercises. Explosive strength can be developed by very fast movements against resistance. These movements can be standard resistance exercises such as squats or arm exercises with barbell (very fast, though),
Sports Skills and Strength Training, Part IV Read More »
by Thomas Kurz In this installment on how strength training relates to sports skills, I will continue with jumping ability, which is a manifestation of explosive strength in the form of a jump. Other manifestations of explosive strength are martial arts kicks and punches, or the action of the arm in shot put. The greater
Sports Skills and Strength Training, Part III Read More »
by Thomas Kurz In Part II you will learn more about sport-specificity of strength training. (Click here to read Part I of “Sports Skills and Strength Training.”) In 1968, Soviet scientist U. I. Ivanov published the results of an experiment showing that different kinds of strength exercises develop distinctly different kinds of strength. He had
Sports Skills and Strength Training, Part II Read More »
