The Total and the Powerlift 5
Neither of these shoes are the top of the line options for serious powerlifting competitors, but for reasonably low-priced shoes, each is a solid option and each shoe has characteristics that make it ideal for a certain type of lifter.
Whether you’re looking to increase your bench press because you want to get stronger for something like powerlifting or you simply want to really work your chest and triceps, I guarantee you that you can benefit from working a bench press variation or accessory (or two) into your routine is going to do wonders for your bench press strength and muscle gainz.
The Total are one of Adidas’ numerous forays into powerlifting shoes. Unlike their other options, they boast a completely flat sole, appealing to the barefoot lifting audience.
As a mid-range speciality shoe, they do a lot of what you expect them to do and can even pinch hit if you want to rock them during metcons involving deadlifts or bodyweight movements.
I wouldn’t choose the ATX Camo bar as my home or garage gym’s centerpiece. I also wouldn’t recommend that Camo bar to my powerlifting buddies.
That being said, you might think the Camo bar is a “bad” barbell to be avoided at all costs. Nothing is further from the truth.
I have had the opportunity to use many of different KingsBox products over the last few years, to include a few different barbells. Currently, my primary training barbell is the company’s The C-bar.
The RitFit BLP01 (referred to as simply the BLP01 in the article) is a budget-friendly specialty machine from a newer fitness brand. Only being marketed as being useful for leg presses and hack squats, you would think it would be pretty hard to mess this up?
Right?
Right!
We all know that the Smith Machines makes the bar feel a bit lighter than “free” barbells (which we normally chalk up to the bar path being pretty much set), but..is it?
Today, we’re going to put this question to rest and while we can’t give an exact answer, we can discuss how much a Smith Machine bar can weigh.
Two fundamental exercises stand out as the pillars of strength training and general “getting big” training: the squat and the deadlift. Both are have hitters for developing lower body and core strength and (should!) make up significant portions of your lifting regimen.
…so…why not squat and deadlift in the same workout session?
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