Latest news with #strength
The Independent
22-07-2025
- Sport
- The Independent
The one training exercise Usyk ‘doesn't like' - and why he's still been doing it for Dubois rematch
Oleksandr Usyk 's training is not geared towards building muscle. He needs enough size to compete as a heavyweight, but beyond this superficial factors are largely unimportant. 'In boxing, big arms [do not equal] a win,' his sports director Sergey Lapin tells DAZN. 'You win first here [he taps his head] and second here [he taps his heart].' Instead, performance improvements are the driving force behind all of Usyk's strength and conditioning training. And during his preparations for the Daniel Dubois rematch, the reverse hyperextension exercise – or reverse hyper, for short – has been a non-negotiable part of this. 'This is an exercise I don't like,' Usyk admits, before adding, 'But this is an exercise that makes me strong.' Read on to find out why the reverse hyperextension can be a gamechanger for athletes. What is the reverse hyper? The reverse hyper is performed on a specialist bit of kit of the same name. It involves lying your torso chest-down across a padded platform at roughly navel height and letting your legs hang towards the floor. Next, you attach your ankles to a weighted pendulum below the platform via a couple of straps, then lift your legs so they rise just beyond parallel with the ground – you can see Usyk demonstrate this move 50 seconds into the DAZN video above. The result is a rarely-matched strength-boosting stimulus for the posterior chain – or the muscles along the back side of your body. This includes the glutes, hamstrings, erector spinae and other muscles in the lower back. It also swerves the spinal loading of free weight alternatives like the back squat or good morning, making it a top option for prehab and rehab work. The reverse hyper was invented by Louie Simmons, founder of renowned strength training facility Westside Barbell – a name you can see printed on the side of Usyk's own machine. An elite-level powerlifter, Simmons experienced a severe back injury which left him on crutches for 10 months. On his return to training, he found he was unable to perform a simple back raise to restore strength to the injured area. So, he decided to try the movement in reverse, building a contraption that allowed him to raise his legs under load, rather than his back. Simmons noticed that performing the exercise in this way increased blood flow to his lower back, leading to less sciatic pain – pain that runs along the sciatic nerve, stretching from the lower back down the back of both legs. 'From the fighter that has a stronger erector muscle for throwing punches out of his dominant stance, to the person that spends hours seated at a desk, we all want to avoid lower back pain,' an article on the Westside Barbell website reads. 'The reverse hyper helps for strength training, prehab, rehab and to strengthen the posterior chain for increased athletic performance.' Benefits of the reverse hyper The reverse hyper is not the only movement option that bolsters the lower back; the good morning, back extension, superman and any deadlift variation will also recruit the relevant muscles and strengthen the surrounding tissues. But it does so in a way that alternative exercises cannot compete with. Firstly, it allows you to lift heavier loads for a lower number of repetitions to target improvements in strength. Exercises such as good mornings and back extensions, on the other hand, are limited by the weight you can support with your upper body. The reverse hyper also allows for a greater range of motion at the hips, which is likely to lead to increased activation within the working muscles. A 2019 study published in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research compared the biomechanical differences between the standard hyperextension and the reverse hyper. It concluded: 'The reverse hyperextension is preferable because it provides greater hip range of motion with less angular stress and equivalent erector spinae activity.' A 2021 study from the same journal also looked at the 'electromyographical (EMG) differences' between the two moves. For this, electromyography electrodes were placed on subjects' erector spinae, gluteus maximus and biceps femoris (part of the hamstring) to measure electrical activity in the muscles during both exercises. The research found that the reverse hyper delivered 'significantly greater' peak EMG in all muscles tested during both the flexion and extension phases of the exercises. 'Therefore, the reverse hyperextension could be considered as a higher-intensity exercise for the posterior chain muscles compared with the hyperextension, potentially eliciting greater increases in strength of the posterior chain muscles,' it summarises. The movement was initially developed as a prehab and rehab exercise, mitigating lower back pain by strengthening the surrounding muscles and increasing circulation to the area. But it has also been adopted by elite athletes like Usyk for its many sporting performance perks. Not only will strengthening the posterior chain reduce his risk of injury, but stronger glutes can also contribute to overall stability, postural control, power development and force transfer from the ground up – all key elements when throwing a punch.
The Guardian
17-07-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
Bluster, bullying, suspensions – this is no way to run the Labour party
This is a sign of weakness, not strength. To suspend four MPs for rebellion suggests a lack of authority and a lack of nerve, not a sense of confidence. Bullying and threats are no way to manage a party, but a signal that Labour has lost control, with its crude methods in cutting winter fuel payments and its attempt to cut disability benefits. As MPs head off for the summer next week, Keir Starmer and the Labour whips hope they will be mulling over their futures, having been warned of the severe penalty for disloyalty. But I doubt that's the message most will absorb. More than 120 MPs signalled their opposition to the proposed welfare cuts, and many more agreed but didn't sign the amendment. Was the solution to sack the lot? Or just the token 'ringleaders'? In fact there were none, just a strong belief among backbenchers of all varieties that not only were the cuts wrong, they were badly done and would be politically damaging, as indeed they were. Those suspended are of the soft left, by no means Corbynites. Rachael Maskell is a bit of a moral grandstander, annoying other MPs by suggesting her conscience is clearer than theirs, but suspensions tend to play to those tendencies (though the four will find that once they are no longer representing Labour, they will lose their voice with broadcasters). A Labour aide boasted gleefully that these 'heads on spikes' were intended as a warning shot to the new intake of MPs not to rebel, but it sounds like petty revenge for their success in forcing the leadership into U-turns. Don't even think of sacking Diane Abbott again: it didn't work out well. She would be away in the Lords now had the party not blundered last time, making her dig in her heels very effectively. Starmer is building quite a record for stamping down on dissent. He is the first prime minister to suspend the whip from MPs in his first month in power. In fact, during that first month, when he punished the seven who voted for an SNP motion to abolish the two-child benefit cap, he suspended more MPs than Tony Blair did during his decade in No 10, despite frequent rebellions. One senior Blair aide said Jeremy Corbyn wasn't expelled even though 'he voted more often against than for the government' (not strictly true, although he did vote against the government more than 400 times). I put that to a senior No 10 source, whose riposte was: 'Well, Blair should have done! It would have saved us a lot of years in opposition.' Unlikely. If not Corbyn, it would have been someone else of his ilk. Parties need discipline. How did Blair maintain it sufficiently, without expulsions? A Blair aide said he paid close attention to his backbenchers, holding a daily morning meeting with the chief whips Hilary Armstrong and Jackie Smith, and weekly meetings with a rotating roster of MPs including regular rebels – even Dennis Skinner – to test the contents of his speeches ahead of time. Aides such as parliamentary private secretaries were delegated to nurture various groups of MPs – the women, the union supporters, the religious, the leftists, those with particular political issues or constituency concerns, those in marginals who kept their ears closest to the ground. If Blair disagreed with them, he said so and explained why. 'Being listened to matters,' said the aide. But the whips weren't supine or toothless. 'They didn't threaten but they could make MPs' lives miserable,' the aide added, with measures such as denying pairing. Things will get worse when MPs return from summer recess, with the autumn budget, the review of services for children with special educational needs and disabilities and a child poverty strategy that needs to rescind the two-child benefit cap, despite 60% of the public in favour of keeping it, including half of Labour voters. There will be many more opportunities for conflict in the party. The problem is profound. This is not about a handful of usual suspects, but a deep unease about the direction of the government, or whether it even has a direction beyond a random collection of policies. Discipline only works if there is a strong story that defines where a government is heading and why. Too many MPs do not believe Starmer's story, especially after the U-turns they forced seemed to send Labour in a better, more coherent direction. Here's an example: it's brilliant that Starmer announced on Thursday that Labour will lower the voting age to 16, but where's the more radical constitutional reform? MPs can get arrogant when they forget they owe everything to the party that selected, financed and organised for them. However talented or beloved they think they are, few manage to buck the trend of national swings. But that also makes them more anxious about the success of the national party. Many know they won't be back after the next election, having won implausible seats by small majorities. The hailstorm of bad economic news in recent days depresses spirits: growth is lower than expected, inflation higher and unemployment up. 'Give me lucky generals,' Napoleon is reputed to have said, but Rachel Reeves so far has not been one of them. Opinion polls are dismal, with Labour overtaken alarmingly by Reform UK. The summer holiday may be approaching, but the party's MPs will go home glum. The way to bring them back in better fettle in September is to sharpen Labour's purpose, build on the best policies of the first year and stop making others that alienate supporters without gaining new ones. Listen to MPs. Remember Aesop's fable of the north wind and the sun competing to make a man remove his cloak. The north wind fails when it blows with all its might because the man wraps his cloak tighter around him, but when the sun shines he takes it off in the heat. Persuasion works better than force. Polly Toynbee is a Guardian columnist
The Guardian
17-07-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
Bluster, bullying, suspensions – this is no way to run the Labour party
This is a sign of weakness, not strength. To suspend four MPs for rebellion suggests a lack of authority and a lack of nerve, not a sense of confidence. Bullying and threats are no way to manage a party, but a signal that Labour has lost control, with its crude methods in cutting winter fuel payments and its attempt to cut disability benefits. As MPs head off for the summer next week, Keir Starmer and the Labour whips hope they will be mulling over their futures, having been warned of the severe penalty for disloyalty. But I doubt that's the message most will absorb. More than 120 MPs signalled their opposition to the proposed welfare cuts, and many more agreed but didn't sign the amendment. Was the solution to sack the lot? Or just the token 'ringleaders'? In fact there were none, just a strong belief among backbenchers of all varieties that not only were the cuts wrong, they were badly done and would be politically damaging, as indeed they were. Those suspended are of the soft left, by no means Corbynites. Rachael Maskell is a bit of a moral grandstander, annoying other MPs by suggesting her conscience is clearer than theirs, but suspensions tend to play to those tendencies (though the four will find that once they are no longer representing Labour, they will lose their voice with broadcasters). A Labour aide boasted gleefully that these 'heads on spikes' were intended as a warning shot to the new intake of MPs not to rebel, but it sounds like petty revenge for their success in forcing the leadership into U-turns. Don't even think of sacking Diane Abbott again: it didn't work out well. She would be away in the Lords now had the party not blundered last time, making her dig in her heels very effectively. Starmer is building quite a record for stamping down on dissent. He is the first prime minister to suspend the whip from MPs in his first month in power. In fact, during that first month, when he punished the seven who voted for an SNP motion to abolish the two-child benefit cap, he suspended more MPs than Tony Blair did during his decade in No 10, despite frequent rebellions. One senior Blair aide said Jeremy Corbyn wasn't expelled even though 'he voted more often against than for the government' (not strictly true, although he did vote against the government more than 400 times). I put that to a senior No 10 source, whose riposte was: 'Well, Blair should have done! It would have saved us a lot of years in opposition.' Unlikely. If not Corbyn, it would have been someone else of his ilk. Parties need discipline. How did Blair maintain it sufficiently, without expulsions? A Blair aide said he paid close attention to his backbenchers, holding a daily morning meeting with the chief whips Hilary Armstrong and Jackie Smith, and weekly meetings with a rotating roster of MPs including regular rebels – even Dennis Skinner – to test the contents of his speeches ahead of time. Aides such as parliamentary private secretaries were delegated to nurture various groups of MPs – the women, the union supporters, the religious, the leftists, those with particular political issues or constituency concerns, those in marginals who kept their ears closest to the ground. If Blair disagreed with them, he said so and explained why. 'Being listened to matters,' said the aide. But the whips weren't supine or toothless. 'They didn't threaten but they could make MPs' lives miserable,' the aide added, with measures such as denying pairing. Things will get worse when MPs return from summer recess, with the autumn budget, the review of services for children with special educational needs and disabilities and a child poverty strategy that needs to rescind the two-child benefit cap, despite 60% of the public in favour of keeping it, including half of Labour voters. There will be many more opportunities for conflict in the party. The problem is profound. This is not about a handful of usual suspects, but a deep unease about the direction of the government, or whether it even has a direction beyond a random collection of policies. Discipline only works if there is a strong story that defines where a government is heading and why. Too many MPs do not believe Starmer's story, especially after the U-turns they forced seemed to send Labour in a better, more coherent direction. Here's an example: it's brilliant that Starmer announced on Thursday that Labour will lower the voting age to 16, but where's the more radical constitutional reform? MPs can get arrogant when they forget they owe everything to the party that selected, financed and organised for them. However talented or beloved they think they are, few manage to buck the trend of national swings. But that also makes them more anxious about the success of the national party. Many know they won't be back after the next election, having won implausible seats by small majorities. The hailstorm of bad economic news in recent days depresses spirits: growth is lower than expected, inflation higher and unemployment up. 'Give me lucky generals,' Napoleon is reputed to have said, but Rachel Reeves so far has not been one of them. Opinion polls are dismal, with Labour overtaken alarmingly by Reform UK. The summer holiday may be approaching, but the party's MPs will go home glum. The way to bring them back in better fettle in September is to sharpen Labour's purpose, build on the best policies of the first year and stop making others that alienate supporters without gaining new ones. Listen to MPs. Remember Aesop's fable of the north wind and the sun competing to make a man remove his cloak. The north wind fails when it blows with all its might because the man wraps his cloak tighter around him, but when the sun shines he takes it off in the heat. Persuasion works better than force. Polly Toynbee is a Guardian columnist
CNN
15-07-2025
- Entertainment
- CNN
‘Superman' cast and crew on why he's a hero for our times
Superman star David Corenswet and director James Gunn explain why they think Superman's greatest strength is actually his vulnerability.
Yahoo
15-07-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Want to Build Real Muscle? This 8-Week Entry-Level Arm Workout Will Start Your Journey to Jacked.
"Hearst Magazines and Yahoo may earn commission or revenue on some items through these links." YES, SCULPTING YOUR arms to superheroic proportions sets you on the path to perfect summer looks and helps you fill out your T-shirts. But the truest path to arm muscle isn't just about curls and pressdowns. The best way to add biceps and triceps size also involves packing on serious full-body strength, too, because contrary to bro science, it's not all about biceps curls and triceps pressdowns. To grow any muscle, you must make it feel a significant 'threat,' says Pat Davidson, PhD, a former college professor turned bodybuilder and noted muscle scientist. Placing tissue under threat means pushing it to the edge of fatigue—and that happens best under heavy loads and during multi-joint movements (think squats and deadlifts). That's why, three days a week during this eight-week program, you'll emphasize the added dimension of total-body lifts. You'll also threaten your biceps and triceps in an intense arm-day session once a week. But instead of basic (boring!) sets and reps, you'll use advanced techniques designed to push you to fatigue quickly. Make sure to use challenging weights during these workouts. To earn the maximum return on every session, you'll want the final rep or two of every set to feel nearly impossible to do with good form. Combined with precise diet tips, the entire program will deliver arm size while still building the full-body muscle you need for the long haul. Want to level up once you're done? Check out MH's Ultimate Arm Recomp plan for next steps. Enjoy the gains. You'll train four days a week on this plan, with an optional fifth day available as well. At least once a week, aim for a relaxed 20-minute run or bike ride. Rest fully from training at least one day. SUNDAY: REST MONDAY: WORKOUT 1 + WORKOUT 2 TUESDAY: WORKOUT 2 + WORKOUT 3 WEDNESDAY: WORKOUT 1 THURSDAY: WORKOUT 2 + WORKOUT 3 (OPTIONAL) FRIDAY: WORKOUT 1 + WORKOUT 3 SATURDAY: REST/CARDIO DIRECTIONS: For all three workouts, warm up with 1 minute each of jumping jacks, bodyweight reverse lunges, and plank shoulder taps, then do the moves in order. Rest 90 seconds between each set. Start standing, dumbbells held at your sides, abs and glutes tight. Push your butt back and lower the dumbbells until you feel your hamstrings tighten or your back starts to round, whichever happens first. (Keep the dumbbells close to your body as you do this.) Stand and squeeze your glutes. That's 1 rep; do 3 sets of 8 to 10. Stand with a barbell in the crooks of your elbows, abs and glutes tight, feet slightly wider than shoulder width. Push your butt back slightly, then bend at the knees, lowering until your thighs are slightly below parallel to the floor. Stand and squeeze your glutes. That's 1 rep; do 3 sets of 8. Lie with your chest on a bench set to a 30-degree angle, hands grasping a loaded EZ bar, palms facing forward. Squeeze your shoulder blades. This is the start. Keeping your chest glued to the bench, pull your elbows toward your hips. Pause, then lower. That's 1 rep; do 3 sets of 8 to 10. Kneel on your left knee, a dumbbell held at your shoulder in your left hand, abs and glutes tight. Press the bell overhead; lower back to your shoulder. That's 1 rep. Do 3 sets of 8 to 10 per side. Stand three feet behind a kettlebell. Push your butt back and bend at your hips just slightly. Keeping your abs tight, grasp the bell with both hands. Explosively pull it back between your legs, then stand and squeeze your glutes; this will propel the bell forward. As the bell reaches its height, let it swing back between your legs, beginning the next rep. Do reps for 30 seconds, then rest 30 seconds. Do 4 sets. DIRECTIONS: Complete the biceps blast, then immediately attack the triceps dropset. You can also use these two series separately (as you will in our regular schedule). Set a bench to a 45-degree incline. Wedge your left armpit into the head of the bench, upper arm on the bench, a dumbbell held above your elbow, palm facing you. Squeeze your shoulder blade. Lower the dumbbell for 3 seconds, until your arm is nearly straight. Without shifting your shoulder, curl upward until your forearm is perpendicular to the floor. That's 1 rep; do 3 sets of 8 per side. Lie with your back on the same bench, abs and glutes tight, dumbbells in both hands, arms fully straight. Your palms should face forward. This is the start. Without shifting your elbows forward, curl the dumbbells as high as possible. Lower with control. That's 1 rep. Do 1 set of 30 total reps, resting for 6 deep breaths whenever you can no longer do reps. Lie with your back on the same bench, abs and glutes tight, dumbbells in both hands. Your palms should face each other. This is the start. Without shifting your elbows forward, curl the dumbbells as high as possible. Lower with control. That's 1 rep. Do 1 set of 30 total reps, resting for 6 deep breaths whenever you can no longer do reps. DIRECTIONS: Do this portion as a circuit, completing your reps of one exercise, then going right to the next. Rest 90 seconds after one round. Attack three rounds. Lie with your back on an incline bench set to a 45-degree incline, abs and glutes tight, dumbbells held directly over your shoulders. Tilt your elbows backward slightly, without arching your back. This is the start. Bend at the elbows, lowering the dumbbells as far as possible. Straighten your arms. That's 1 rep. Do 10. Lie with your back on the floor, feet near your butt, dumbbells held directly overhead. Bend at the elbows, lowering the dumbbells to your shoulders; do not shift your elbows forward as you do this. Press back up. That's 1 rep; do 10. Stay in the same position and again do skullcrusher reps. This time, lower the dumbbells until they touch the floor (giving you a brief 'rest' between reps). Your elbows may shift back as you do this; that's okay. Squeeze your elbows close to each other and press up. Do as many reps as possible. YOUR WORKOUTS SET the stage for arm growth, but to get the most out of them, you'll want to crush your post-lift meal too. And that means carbs, protein, and creatine after you've hit the gym, in a mix known as the 3:1 stack. Resistance-trained athletes who ate this stack gained significant muscle mass in addition to gains in one-rep max strength, according to an Australian study. 0.75 to 1 gram per kilogram of goal bodyweight This helps replace lost glycogen and boost insulin, which drives nutrients into the biceps and triceps you just torched. 0.25 to 3 gram per kilogram The protein, of course, provides your muscles with the building-block amino acids needed for growth. 0.1 gram per kilogram The creatine amplifies everything, improving cell hydration and supercharging your pump. Blend 30 grams of whey protein with oats, a banana, and 5 to 10 grams of creatine for a terrific on-the-go option. Six ounces of grilled chicken, four ounces of white rice, and juice with creatine stirred in should cover you. A 25-gram protein bar and eight ounces of chocolate milk with creatine powder is great for a morning subway commute.$875.00 at Saks Fifth Avenue$549.00 at at at A version of this story originally appeared in the July/August 2025 issue of Men's Health. You Might Also Like The Best Hair Growth Shampoos for Men to Buy Now 25 Vegetables That Are Surprising Sources of Protein
