Women, Short Torso, Long Femur, Sucky Squats?
A smart woman with long femurs relative to torso and/or shin bone length will know this is why the parallel back squat is difficult without a lot forward lean. The back squat is not the be-all [...]
Why the Femur to Torso Ratio in Squatting Is NOT Nonsense
There is solid truth to the claim that a bad femur to torso ratio will make back squats very difficult; learn why this is not a lame excuse! Are you one of those “bro science” [...]
Why You Can’t Go Parallel with Barbell Squats or Even Bodyweight
If you can’t get parallel with squats and fall backwards instead or must hold something in front of you, you won’t like the reason. Many things have been blamed for not being able to go [...]
Why Young Children Squat Easier than Adults
Adults who can’t get parallel with a squat, let alone deep, must realize that one reason children squat so easily is body proportions. Google “children squatting” and hit “images” and you’ll see toddlers in a [...]
Are Long Femurs a Good Excuse for Lousy Back Squat Technique?
Yes, long femurs DO really SCREW up the back squat! It’s interesting that the men in fitness forums who slam those who insist their long femurs screw up their back squats don’t suffer from long femurs themselves -- [...]
Why the Squat Butt Wink Is Bad & Why It Needs to Go
The so-called butt wink in a back squat is bad news and if you have this problem, it needs to be corrected. Many people butt wink when they perform a squat. Many don’t realize they do [...]
Long Femurs: Why Wide Stance Makes Parallel Squats Easier
This article explains in plain English the fascinating reason why a wide stance makes squatting parallel so much easier for long femurs. If you know that long femurs have been hampering your ability to go [...]
Why You Shouldn’t Compare Adult’s Squat with Child’s Squat
There is no comparison between an adult's full squat and a young child's full squat, yet people continue comparing the two when discussing the back squat exercise. As a former personal trainer, it continues to [...]
Short vs. Long Femurs for Hiking
Does femur length really matter when it comes to hiking efficiency? “Long femurs” refers to relative length of these bones to one’s overall height or leg length, and in the world of weightlifting, the issue [...]
3 Exercises that’ll Improve the Back Squat for Long Femurs
Here are three simple and fun exercises to improve back squats if you have the unfortunate levers of relatively long femurs. Bad levers do not mean that you can’t override long femurs by “strengthening your ancillaries.” [...]
Long Femur, Short Shin: Advantage in Leg Extension, Ham Curl
Though a long femur relative to shin is a disadvantage in squats, it’s a biomechanical plus in the leg extension and hamstring curl. The long femur to short shin proportion has been vilified as bad [...]
Being Tall Is No Excuse for Parallel Squat Problems!
Even a super tall NBA star could do an ass to grass squat if he has the right proportions! Do not blame squat problems on being tall. Being tall, in and of itself, is not a disadvantage [...]
Can Femur to Shin Length Ratio Affect the Back Squat?
It isn’t just femur to torso ratio that can create problems with the back squat; shin length relative to upper leg can also mess things up. You’re aware that if the femurs are longer than [...]
Why Elevated Heels Make Squatting to Parallel Easier
Anyone who’s struggled to get parallel in the squat (femur torso ratio) knows that elevating the heels makes this possible, and here’s why. For those with long femurs and short torso who can’t achieve a [...]
Does Sitting, Rising from Chair Mean You Can Parallel Squat?
I could not believe it when a strength training enthusiast chastised another about the parallel squat, in that the one trainee insisted he was not able to squat due to a short torso (and long [...]
Yes, TALL People CAN Have Short Femurs
Super tall men with relatively short femurs have a squat advantage over shorties with relatively long femurs ANY DAY. Many believe that being tall interferes with doing a parallel squat because, allegedly, it's troublesome to [...]
Do Long Femurs and a Bad Squat Mean You’re Weak?
If you’re biomechanically disadvantaged due to femurs that are longer than your torso, find out if this means you’re weak. When a person with long femurs (meaning, femurs longer than their torso, regardless of overall [...]
Causes of the Butt Wink in Back Squatting
It’s a myth that the squat butt wink is caused ONLY by tight hamstrings or tight hips! Want to know what really is behind the cause of the butt wink motion that so many people [...]
Can Short People Have Relatively Long Femurs ?
Short people CAN have a relatively long femur, meaning, their thigh bone is longer than their torso -- even if their overall height is way shorter than average. As a former personal trainer, I am fascinated [...]
Can Long Femurs Be a Disadvantage in Daily Life?
You know that long femurs are a curse for squatting exercises, but does this problem carry over to day-to-day activities? As a former personal trainer and always-fitness enthusiast, this topic intrigues me. If you clicked [...]
Best Way to Tell if Femurs Are Too Long for Back Squat
There’s a fool proof way to tell if your femurs are too long for decent parallel back squats. If you can’t parallel squat, does this automatically mean your femurs are too long relative to the [...]
Best Leg Muscle Building Exercises for Long Femurs
If you’ve given up on the squat due to long femurs, here are the best exercises to build muscle in your legs. Time and time again, the muscle building literature says that people with long [...]
Can Low Back Flexibility Offset Long Femurs in the Squat?
Learn about what increasing low back flexibility can do for your squat if you're stiffed with the curse of long femurs and a short torso! If you’ve been working hard on getting your squat to [...]
Can Construction Work Substitute for Gym Weight Workouts?
Are you in construction and wondering if this will build muscle the way that training at a gym with weights will? The big question for men in construction work who believe that this occupation can [...]
What Makes Legs Shake During Leg Presses?
Does doing leg presses make your legs shake? So your legs shake while doing leg presses; what is going on here? I’m a former personal trainer and was not uncommon for my clients’ legs to start [...]
Prevent Finger Pain from Climbing: 6 Ways
Follow these guidelines to help prevent finger pain related to climbing. Finger pain from climbing can be caused by more than one factor, says Joseph Ciccone, DPT, CSCS, a doctor of physical therapy and certified [...]
Walk Backward on a Treadmill for Low Back Pain Relief
You can relieve your low back pain by walking backwards on a treadmill... ...but if you hold on, you'll sabotage this benefit! You need to stand upright and keep your hands off the rails. Walking [...]
Does Deadlifting Make Your Elbow Hurt? Solution for Pain
One day I noticed that after completing my third or fourth set of deadlifts, my right elbow felt a bit funny. This funny feeling was in the joint; the tendon had somehow been overloaded or [...]
GOMAD vs. Olive Oil for Weight Gain
GOMAD means a gallon of milk a day for weight gain, but have you ever considered olive oil? When a man chooses GOMAD for weight gain, it’s usually whole milk, or maybe 2 percent. However, [...]
Risk of Kids of Anorexic Moms Developing Eating Disorder?
An expert explains the risks children have in developing anorexia nervosa when their mother struggles with the eating disorder herself. How much can an anorexic environment, created by a mother, raise the risk of her [...]
Should Anorexic Women Avoid Parenthood Due to Mental Illness?
It’s a fair question: If a woman has anorexia and has not yet had children, should she postpone parenthood until she absolutely feels she has conquered her eating disorder? Anorexia nervosa is a form of [...]
Can Anorexic Mom’s Body Prevent Daughter from Eating Disorder?
A girl is more likely to develop anorexia nervosa, relative to her baseline inclination, if her mother has this eating disorder. From an intuitive point of view, it seems as though just the sight of [...]
How Kids Can Motivate Anorexic Mom to Seek Treatment
Here are guidelines for kids to help their mother with anorexia nervosa seek treatment. If you’re a teenager or even younger, and your mother has anorexia nervosa, it’s presumable that you’d like to help out, [...]
Is It Wrong for Anorexic Women to Have Children?
Some people believe that a woman with anorexia should not have children -- “have” as in raise kids. In other words, that it’s not ethically right for anorexic women to decide to rear kids, as [...]
Five Ways Anorexia in Mother Negatively Affects Children
Though anorexia nervosa is an eating disorder rather than a drug or alcohol addiction, its consequences can have a profoundly negative effect on children of the patient. Don’t assume “It’s just an eating disorder; how [...]
Advice to Teen Girls with Anorexic Mothers
If you’re a teenaged girl who’s struggling because your mother has anorexia nervosa, know that you are absolutely not to blame for your mother’s eating disorder, says Linda Centeno, PhD, clinical psychologist, and assistant director [...]
Recovering Anorexic Says Eating Disorder Had Bad Impact on Kids
If you have anorexia nervosa, don't underestimate how damaging the effects of this will be on your children, especially daughters. One woman shares how badly her anorexia nervosa affected her daughter. I interviewed Kari Adams, who [...]
World’s Strongest Toddler, Liam Hoekstra, on TLC: Hype or Hypertrophy
Liam Hoekstra was born in 2005. The World's Strongest Toddler aired in 2014 on TLC about 3-year-old Liam Hoekstra, a pint-size boy from Roosevelt Park who has 40 percent more muscle mass than typical [...]
What Does “Inflammatory Lung Disease” Really Mean?
Have you or someone you know been told they have “inflammatory lung disease”? “Inflammatory lung diseases are clinically and histopathologically [under the microscope] a group of acute and chronic conditions,” begins Sashini Seeni, MD, a [...]
How Does Feeling Depressed Cause Constipation?
Depression can cause constipation. However, if your depression has caused constipation, you may not even know it. “The range of normal bowel movement frequency is from one BM in three days to three BMs in [...]
