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5 Best Deadlift Alternatives for Muscle Growth & Less Stress on Your Back

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You step up to the bar, lock in your deadlift setup, and let it rip from the floor. But something doesn’t feel right. Your grip loosens, and your lower back says, “No, thank you.” You could grind through it, but heavy deadlifts don’t leave much margin for error . Some days, your body has second thoughts, such as low-back flare-ups or grip giving out before your glutes and hamstrings even fire. At times, limited mobility makes every rep feel like a chiropractic gamble. But there are other ways to hinge without grinding through pain or frustration. These are five deadlift alternatives, each chosen to fix a specific issue that makes the barbell deadlift a no-go. Whether you’re chasing strength, hypertrophy, or pain-free progress, one of these exercises will fit your body better, without ditching what makes deadlifting great. Let’s break down the most common deadlift problems and the five better moves that solve them. Srdjan/Adobe Stock Why Deadlifts Hurt: Common Problems Lifters F...
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Dr. Tommy Wood Shares His Science-Backed Strategy to Prevent Cognitive Decline After 40

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There is a quiet realization baked into each of our lives. It says that sometime after 40, your edge dulls, focus slips, and recall lags. You trade in being “dangerous for becoming “experienced.” Your conversations revolve around what you used to do, and less of what you are doing now and will be doing in the future. Many people accept this fate. They accept the brain fog, shorter attention span, and creeping distractions that occupy a solid chunk of each day. In other words, there are lots of us who accept the idea that decline is just part of life. Dr. Tommy Wood, author of The Stimulated Mind, which comes out March 24, calls it what it is: behavioral conditioning. Wood’s career spans hospital wards, research labs, high-performance motorsports paddocks, and executive coaching rooms. He’s seen the aging brain, the injured brain, the elite brain under pressure – and the common thread isn’t inevitability. It’s stimulus. “Cognitive decline isn’t inevitable if you continue to chall...
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Hugh Jackman’s Viral Pull-Up Challenge Is Harder Than It Looks

Hugh Jackman may have hung up his Wolverine claws, at least for now, but the inspirational Aussie is still showing his super-powers in the gym, as evidenced by a recent successful quest: completing the Invisible Pullup Challenge. Sharing the feat via his Instagram reels, Jackman’s 30 million-plus IG followers got to see the muscular movie star, now 57, taking on a seriously tough body-weight challenge that was set by his personal trainer , Beth Lewis. Jackman revealed that the task had been “super tough,” but the X-Men icon still rose to the occasion, weathering the taxing time under tension to impress his fans. View this post on Instagram How to Do the Invisible Pull-Up (Step-by-Step Guide) Try this challenge for yourself: Start in a dead hang position and then use one leg to make an invisible step by raising and bending the knee. As you complete the step, straighten the leg, and use your arms to pull the body upwards, giving the illusion ...
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Simeon Panda Shoulder Workout: 4 Exercises to Build Bigger Delts, Strength & Upper Body Power

With his super wide and well-rounded shoulders, it’s no wonder that Simeon Panda is one of the world’s biggest fitness influencers , and fortunately this model and bodybuilding judge is all about passing on his well-earned wisdom. Recently, the social media star, who has more than 17 million followers across his various platforms took to Instagram to share a simple but effective plan for pumping up the shoulders. “Crazy volume,” touted Panda when discussing the results of this four-move shoulder session. “Get the biggest shoulder pump with this routine.” Are you ready? Great! Let’s press on! View this post on Instagram Simeon Panda’s 4-Move Shoulder Workout for Massive Delts Seated Smith Machine Shoulder Press — 6 sets of 6-10 reps Standing Dumbbell Press — 6 sets of 6-10 reps Dumbbell Lateral Raise — 6 sets of 8-10 reps Reverse Pec Dec — 6 sets of 8-10 reps Simeon Panda’s Pro Tips to Maximize Shoulder Growth and Prevent Injury Star...
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Megan Ewoldsen’s Science-Backed Muscle-Building Tips For Faster Gains

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Bikini Masters competitor Megan Ewoldsen proves that it’s possible to be a busy mom and still win bodybuilding trophies, but the inspirational fitness influencer has recently taken to Instagram to share six tips that she wished she’d known sooner, as relates to getting the most from her time in the gym. Fortunately, the bodybuilder has shared those hard-earned lessons, so that you can make gains with your own physique. Ewoldsen regularly sets fitness-based challenges for her 335,000+ IG followers , and says that going from beginner to advanced lifting is all about doing the basic training, “but with better awareness.” The beauty, who most recently won the Masters 35+ Bikini category in the 2025 NPC Worldwide Caribbean Grand Prix Bahamas and came second in the 2025 NPC Masters USA wrote, “That’s the funny thing about lifting. The longer you do it, the more you realize the fundamentals aren’t something you ‘graduate’ from. They’re something you keep getting better at.” Here’s how to g...
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Jay Cutler’s Leg Press Workout: How the former Mr. Olympia Built Massive Quads

Jay Cutler became known as “The Quad Stomper” because his legs were a driving force behind four phenomenal Mr. Olympia victories . And, for those who aspire to build their own crushing quads, Cutler says that the leg press was a key to his success. Here’s how to master this exercise. Taking to Instagram, Cutler, demonstrated the details for his 5.8 million Instagram followers. “On the Olympia stage, I had some of the best legs,” he said, proudly. “Detail, size, shape, and one of the exercises I performed most of the time was the leg press.” Of course, most fledgling bodybuilders know that the leg press is a staple for stunning legs, but what people often get wrong is form and foot placement. View this post on Instagram How Jay Cutler’s Leg Press Technique Built Bodybuilding’s Best Quads “To build the frontal quads, you want to have a lower foot placement on the platform,” he explained of acing the angles. The Olympia icon noted that the feet sh...
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Why Even Young & Fit Athletes Can’t Ignore Colon Cancer Screening

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John B. Johnson has always considered himself fit. He ran track in high school and played rugby at Kent State University. At 35, wanting to get in the best shape of his life, he trained for the 2023 Cleveland Marathon, racking up 70-plus miles per week. One morning, he noticed blood in his stool. “At first, I thought it was from eating beets, but it persisted,” he says. “I felt fine but knew I should get it checked out.” Johnson ran the race in 3:04, which qualified him for the Boston Marathon, then saw his doctor. “He initially thought the blood was caused by a ruptured hemorrhoid, but still ordered a colonoscopy,” says Johnson. The procedure found a mass in his rectum that proved to be stage 2 colorectal cancer. Johnson was shocked. He was young, ate clean (he hadn’t drunk a soda since his teens), and had no known cancer in his family. “I just got into Boston, and they told me I was sick,” says Johnson. “It didn’t make sense.” A rising problem Colorectal cancer often strikes older...
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Jen Hendershott Is Building the Bridge Women’s Fitness Always Needed

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There’s a strange irony in women’s fitness. It may be the most complete division in the IFBB as far as strength, muscle, conditioning, choreography, stage presence, and athleticism go; it is the very embodiment of the fitness movement—and yet it has always lived just slightly in the shadows of its more muscular, less athletic cousins. Unlike all the other divisions—male and female—fitness demands you not only look the part, but also prove it in motion—extreme motion. It’s not enough to stand there, hit some poses, and be more impressive than the person next to you. No. You have to fly. And that’s exactly why Jen Hendershott belonged on the Olympia stage. Long before she was Ms. Olympia. Long before the Arnold titles. Long before the routines that made judges sit up like the front row of a Baptist revival. She was a cheerleader—a cheerleader who went through high school and college, rose to the very top of the heap, reached the zenith of her competitive career at 22, and looked around...
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Dennis James Questions Sam Sulek’s Classic Physique Future After 2026 Arnold Debut

On Episode 276 of The Menace Podcast, host Dennis “The Menace” James was joined by Jose Raymond and Milos Sarcev to dissect all the details from the 2026 Arnold and, during the show, James questioned Sam Sulek’s suitability for the Classic Physique division. Sulek made his Pro debut this year, in the Classic Physique category in Columbus, OH, and earned a respectable eighth place in his first outing, but the social media star didn’t impress Dennis James it seems. “I was a little surprised,” shared The Menace. “The guy that placed ninth. How did he get beat? I don’t know,” he stated. While the Men’s Classic Physique trophy went to Wesley Vissers, Sulek’s eighth-place finish put him ahead of established stars like Paul Kanu (ninth) and Hang Niu (tenth).  “So, for me, Sam would have been ninth or tenth,” added James. View this post on Instagram Dennis James Suggest Sulek Could Thrive in the Open Division “Sam’s not classic for me,” James cont...
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Chokecherry’s Izzie Clark Shares How Fitness Helps Her as an Artist

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If you follow music and pay attention to the performers onstage, then you’ve likely noticed that there is a movement happening in that community. Regardless of the genre you have on your headphones, stars are getting into shape. Beyond the aesthetics and marketing, they will confirm it helps them become better entertainers and allows them to relieve stress that comes from a lot of time on the road or in the studio. Izzie Clark of Chokecherry confirms that fitness has been an asset to her professionally, but it has served an even bigger purpose for her personally. “All in all, fitness has helped me develop a healthy & symbiotic relationship with my body, and for that I am so grateful!” Izzie Clark’s California Roots and Punk Music Influences Clark grew up in Ventura, CA, very much a skater a surfer town. Her sister Catherine was into both surfing and music, which served as inspiration for Izzie. “I would just always grow up going to her surf contests and there’s also a really ...
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