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Bent-Over Rows Bother Your Lower Back? 5 Back-Building Moves That Still Do The Trick

The barbell bent-over row is the row with the most bang for the buck because it trains the lats, upper back, rear delts, biceps, grip, and the lower back. For building a thicker, stronger back, nothing beats it. But there is one little thing… Holding the hinge position in the bent-over row requires lower-back muscular endurance. For some, the lower back waves the white flag long before the lats do, and it becomes less of a back builder and more of a test of lower-back endurance. Lower back fatigue doesn’t make the bent-over row a bad exercise, nor does it mean something is wrong. But if the lower back becomes the weakest link, it ends your set early, limits the load, and gains go bye-bye. If that’s a problem, here comes the solution. The solution may be better form, reduced loading, or adjusting where you place rows in your workout. Before ditching it, let’s figure out why your lower back is tapping out first—and what you can do about it. If it is still an issue, the 5 back-build...
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2026 Britain’s Strongest Woman Results: Deadlift Legend Lucy Underdown Dominates to Claim Historic 3-Peat

Far from being an underdog, Lucy Underdown has secured a third “Britain’s Strongest Woman” title after dominating the field once again, with her trademark power and sheer determination. Underdown, who is a serving police officer in Kent, England, first took the title of Britain’s Strongest Woman in 2024, and has won again this year to mark her third consecutive victory. “What a great competition!” wrote Underdown in a celebratory post via Instagram. “I knew exactly what I needed to do and when it came down to the competition, I had a sense of calm I have never felt before. I knew each event, what was needed, and I executed everything perfectly.” The strong woman, 36, who is also known for her female world record deadlifting feats with the standard bar (717 pounds / 325 kilograms) and elephant bar (701 pounds / 318 kilograms) reigned supreme at the York Barbican on July 25, winning the Deadlift and Stone to Shoulder events outright, and amassing a 4.5-point lead on the runner-up, Reb...
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New Study: Once-a-Week Brisk Interval Walking Can Help Reduce Waist Size

Exercising is an efficient way to burn calories, but there’s no getting around the significant time investment required to get our reps in while juggling our personal and professional lives. So, a new study coming out of Hong Kong that supports brisk interval walking as a way of reducing our waist size comes as welcome news. And, better still, one long session is almost as good as three seperate stints, according to the latest science. The new research, published in Nature Communications,  provides encouraging news for those of us who are time-poor, or just too poor to afford a gym membership right now. How was the study carried out? Between 2021 and 2024, a group of 315 overweight adults were placed into three groups: Interval treadmill session: once per week Interval treadmill session: three times per week Control group While the control group received support on the subject of health education, both walking groups completed a total of 75 minutes exercising. One group took o...
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‘I Play Rocky’ Trailer Hits 20 Million Views: First Look at Anthony Ippolito as a Young Sylvester Stallone

There may already be six Rocky movies and three Creed spin-offs out there for your viewing pleasure, but if like us, you just can’t get enough of the “Italian Stallion,” the news that Anthony Ippolito is set to channel Sylvester Stallone—to tell the fabled story of how the original movie got the green light, will be welcome news. And, if the newly released trailer is anything to go by, the box office can take our money right now. What Is the ‘I Play Rocky’ Movie About? Stallone fans already know that he was a struggling actor, failing to find his footing in Hollywood before taking matters into his own hands and writing a winning script, but not everyone knows the challenges that Sly faced to play the starring role of his own creation. While producers loved the underdog story of a no-named challenger who is given a million-to-one-shot chance at the heavyweight title, they wanted anyone but Stallone on the poster. Instead, the young actor was offered increasing sums of money to sell th...
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He Once Trained to Play in the NFL. Now, JB Copeland Works as a Voice for Mental Health

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In the last four years, JB Copeland has cemented himself as an encouraging presence in the mental health advocacy space, especially among young men. But this was never his Plan A. From adolescence into early adulthood, the 31-year-old had envisioned a future that looked much different. In his mind, football had always been the ultimate goal. “Football had been my life since I was 6 years old. When I thought about what I wanted to do, it was always, ‘play in the NFL,’” he told Muscle & Fitness. “There was no Plan B. I’d made up my mind that this is why I’m here and this is what I’m going to do.” However, during his junior year of college at University of North Carolina, Copeland was forced to adapt to a new, unprecedented reality. A Promising Trajectory Born Dec. 6, 1994, John Byron Copeland grew up in Southlake, TX, later attending Southlake Carroll High School, where he proved to be a gifted linebacker. Copeland completed 90 total tackles his junior year (with 45 solo sto...
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World-Class Powerlifters Set Records at 2026 American Pro

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The Henrico Sports and Events Center in Glen Allen, VA served as the venue for Powerlifting United’s (PLU) American Pro on August 7th and 8th. The first day of the American Pro was an “Open Day,” meaning that any PLU member could register to compete. Saturday, August 8th was the Invitational Day that included 28 of the best powerlifters in the world stepping onto the platform to attempt breaking records and earning part of the $25,000 purse that was on the line. Best Lifter Winners Women’s Best Lifter – Brittany Bowles Brittany Bowles earned Best Lifter honors on the women’s side of the stage thanks to her 215-kilogram (474-pound) squat, 137.5-kilogram (303-pound) bench press, and 228.5-kilogram (504-pound) deadlift. Her 581-kilogram (1,281-pound) total makes her the new all-time world record holder for the total in the 60-kilogram (132-pound) division. Bowles 646.109 DOTS score, which used gender, bodyweight, age, and weight lifted to determine an overall score was not only the b...
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The Ultimate Preacher Curl Setup Guide: 6 Steps to Isolate Your Biceps and Force Max Growth

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The preacher curl is a fantastic biceps builder. By supporting the upper arms on a pad, it minimizes momentum and requires the biceps to do most of the work. But there’s a catch. The preacher curl is only as effective as your setup. It’s not as simple as sitting down, then gripping and ripping, but it’s about creating the necessary tension in the biceps while eliminating everything else. Now, whether you’re using an EZ-curl bar, a straight bar, or a preacher curl machine, the setup principles remain the same. This checklist breaks down those fundamentals step by step. The setup may feel slow at first, but once it becomes second nature, every rep will be far more effective at achieving the preacher curl’s intended purpose—improving flex time. Let’s dive in.   How to Set Up the Preacher Curl for Maximum Biceps Isolation It may seem overboard to set up an isolation exercise like this, but the biceps are just that important. Step 1: Adjust the Seat and Pad Height Before gripping...
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Can Nick Walker Win the 2026 Mr. Olympia? Milos Sarcev and Panel Break Down His Tampa Pro Dominance

On Episode 296 of The Menace Podcast, host Dennis James was joined by Milos Sarcev and Jose Raymond, and a top talking point was Nick Walker’s dominant Olympia qualification at the 2026 Tampa Pro. Can “The Mutant” lift the Sandow trophy in just a few weeks’ time? The panel weighed in. Did Nick Walker Qualify for the 2026 Mr. Olympia? Nick Walker left the Tampa Pro  as the clear victor, beating his nearest challenger, James Hollingshead by ten points and punching his ticket to the Mr. Olympia final in Las Vegas. Following his highly impressive showing, Walker said that he was now “coming to embarrass” the other competitors in Sin City. There’s no denying that Walker has made excellent progress with his physique, and this was acknowledged by The Menace Podcast panel. Providing his take, Milos Sarcev said that Walker’s performance in Tampa was so good because he appeared effortless on stage. Indeed, “The Mutant” displayed much better control of his midsection, which is a huge plus fac...
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How to Evaluate Joint Health Supplements: What Clinicians Should Look for in the Research

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Active adults want to keep moving, and someone in their fifties who hikes, cycles, or plays tennis twice a week wants to know whether a daily capsule is worth taking. A label claim can guide individuals, but it isn’t evidence. For clinicians, the research behind a joint supplement is valuable information used to make a recommendation. The category is crowded, and the evidence behind individual products varies widely, so knowing how to read that research comes first. What the Evidence Says About Legacy Ingredients Glucosamine and chondroitin have anchored joint supplementation for decades, and roughly 6.5 million Americans take glucosamine annually. Both are naturally present in the cartilage matrix, and supplementation has a plausible mechanistic rationale, since the ingredients supply raw material the tissue uses. Trials haven’t consistently shown that supplying that raw material changes outcomes. Multiple meta-analyses, including reviews published in JAMA , Inflammopharmacology ...
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Lukas Gage Is Finding a Way to Stay Fit during His ‘Prison Break’ Reboot

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For Lukas Gage, preparing for the reboot of Prison Brea k hasn’t been about building a penitentiary physique or chasing a dramatic physical transformation. The goal was to become durable.  Gage plays Jackson, a congressional candidate. While he remains careful not to reveal any intricate plot details, he says the role requires him to maintain the energy and physical readiness necessary to handle long production days, overnight shoots, repeated takes, and the heat of West Virginia summers.  The actor spoke with Muscle & Fitness through his partnership with Training Mate , the Australian-inspired group fitness concept that has become an important part of his weekly routine. It’s a combination of strength work, conditioning, and community.  “Jackson is someone who’s constantly operating under pressure, so there is a real physicality to the role,” Gage says. “He is running for Congress and constantly trying to keep up with staying fit for the campaign.” Rather than training for a ...
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