Morris is the first American weightlifter since 1968 to hold a Senior world record.
Last updated on April 2nd, 2024
American weightlifter Hampton Morris made history on Apr. 2, 2024, during the 2024 IWF World Cup in Phuket, Thailand. Morris, 20, put the United States back into the Senior world record books for the first time in over 50 years when he clean & jerked 176 kilograms, or 388 pounds.
This historic achievement comes at the tail end of a long and grueling qualification period for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. The Cup, which runs from Mar. 31 to Apr. 11, is the final qualifying event ahead of this summer’s Olympics — and Morris just punched his ticket.
Despite an unprecedented performance during the clean & jerks, Morris placed second overall in the 61-kilogram category at the Cup. Here’s a breakdown of his lifts on the day:
Clean & Jerk: 169x, 172, 176 | Junior World Record, World Record
Total: 303
The gold medal in this category went to Chinese athlete and 2020 Olympic Champion Li Fabin. Fabin also advanced his own world record in the snatch by a single kilogram when he lifted 146 on his third attempt.
Morris Makes History
Since his debut on the International Weightlifting Federation (IWF) platform in 2018 as a Youth athlete, Morris has quickly risen up as the States’ next great American talent. He’s claimed and advanced the Junior world record clean & jerks several times over.
Here’s a breakdown of his trajectory in the Total as a 61-kilogram athlete in the IWF since his debut:
Prior to Morris, the last American to hold a Senior-level world record in the sport of weightlifting was Joseph Dube in 1968. Dube set a world record in the clean & press event, which was removed from weightlifting in 1972.
Credit: Jessie Johnson / @barbellstories
With a lifetime best performance in Phuket under his belt, Morris advanced to the number-two position in the world in the 61-kilogram category (behind Fabin). When the Olympic torch is lit in Paris this August, you can bet that Morris will march straight toward the podium.
Li Fabin holds two out of three world records in the Men’s 61-kilogram category.
Last updated on April 2nd, 2024
Few weightlifters run their category like China’s Li Fabin. The 2020 Olympic Champion holds all three world records in the 61-kilogram division and, on Apr. 2, 2024, Fabin strengthened his claim when he set a 146-kilogram (321.8-pound) snatch world record.
The 2024 IWF World Cup, which runs in Phuket, Thailand from Mar. 31 to Apr. 11, was Fabin’s last chance to close out the Paris qualification procedure on a high note. Check it out:
Fabin handily won the 2024 IWF World Cup and confirmed his status as the most dominant 61-kilogram weightlifter in the world. Here’s a breakdown of his performance:
He may have won the event, but Fabin didn’t walk away with gold medals across the board. He placed first in the snatch but fifth in the clean & jerks. The gold medal there went to the USA’s Hampton Morris, who made American weightlifting history with a 176-kilogram clean & jerk — the States’ first in over half a century.
Behind Fabin are a number of athletes vying to maintain their position in the top 10 (a requirement for Paris invitation). Prior to the Cup, Italy’s Sergio Massidda held the second-place position with 302; that slot now belongs to Morris, who logged a 303-kilogram result in Phuket.
But the real challenge to Fabin’s position was, supposedly, to come from teammate, five-time World Champion, and fellow Olympic Champion (2020, 67KG) Chen Lijun. Lijun cut down from 67 kilograms to contend for Fabin’s slot in the 61s.
Lijun had only one shot and needed to Total more than 314, Fabin’s best, in order to “steal” that category slot. China, like all countries, may only send three male weightlifters to Paris, and only one per weight class. Lijun failed all three of his snatch attempts in Phuket.
As a consequence, Fabin is going to Paris and, based on his performance here, is likely to win his second Olympic gold.
Hagan has competed in over 50 pro shows in the last eight years.
Last updated on April 2nd, 2024
In a surprise announcement three days after the 2024 Arnold Classic UK, the British IFBB Pro Bikini division bodybuilder Phoebe Hagan revealed she would take a break from competition for the remainder of the 2024 season. The decision effectively ends her pursuit for a third consecutive Olympia qualification.
In a video published on March 25, 2024, on her YouTube channel, Hagan cited a loss of love for the sport as the reason behind her decision after feeling burnt out from a demanding competitive season. A season off offers time for her body and mindset to recover. Check it out below:
“I haven’t taken more than six months off stage in the last eight years,” Hagan said. “In the last year, I have fallen out of love with the sport, and I felt like it was more ‘I have to compete’ rather than ‘I actually want to compete.’ Right now, I need to find the love for the sport again.”
Although Hagan was satisfied with her improvement from the 2024 Bikini International US to the 2024 Bikini International UK, held roughly two weeks apart, she slipped from fifth place in the former to sixth in the latter.
The [muscle] pop, fullness, and roundness I brought to the Arnold Classic UK was exactly what I wanted to bring.
Hagan received the judges’ feedback and intends to work toward those improvements during her time off.
“Post [bodybuilding] show, I feel it is very important to take your time to rest and recover,” said Hagan. “It’s so easy to return to hardcore training and put your body under a lot more stress.”
I haven’t trained or done cardio after the Arnold Classic UK.
After limiting herself to low-intensity cardio, like walking, for three days after the show, Hagan pays close attention to her body’s signals as she gradually eases into a structured resistance training routine.
Phoebe Hagan’s Competitive History
According to NPC New Online, Hagan has competed in the following shows:
Trexler ET, Smith-Ryan AE, Norton LE. Metabolic adaptation to weight loss: implications for the athlete. J Int Soc Sports Nutr. 2014;11(1):7. Published 2014 Feb 27. doi:10.1186/1550-2783-11-7
Gyong continued a world record streak during the 2024 IWF World Cup.
Last updated on April 2nd, 2024
Since the 2024 IWF World Cup began on Mar. 31 in Phuket, Thailand, every single weight category has seen new records set (and reset). On Apr 2., it was North Korea’s Kang Hyon Gyong who set two more: a 131-kilogram (288.8-pound) clean & jerk and a 234-kilogram (515.8-pound) Total.
Gyong is far and away the most dominant weightlifter in the world in the Women’s 55-kilogram division. Here’s how she did on the day in Phuket:
Kang Hyon Gyong | 2024 IWF World Cup
After clinching the Total world record (the sum of an athlete’s best snatch and clean & jerk), Gyong declined her final attempt of the event. She won the 55-kilogram division by a 33-kilogram margin in the Total ahead of silver medalist Mihaela Cambei and third-placer Khaba Sorokhaibam.
A Winning Record
Unlike some of her teammates on the People’s Republic of Korea (PRK) weightlifting roster, Gyong is a tenured competitor with several International Weightlifting Federation (IWF) wins under her belt.
Since her IWF debut in 2013 at that year’s Youth World Championships, Gyong has competed six additional times internationally, winning four overall gold medals:
North Korea is ineligible to compete at the 2024 Olympics in Paris because the country missed several early qualifier events. Further, the Women’s 55-kilogram class won’t be hosted in Paris this summer.
But weightlifting was recently confirmed for the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles, and the categories have yet to be declared. If there’s a 55-kilogram event in LA, you’d be wise to bet on Gyong to win it all.
Achieving optimal flexibility in the thoracic spine and rib cage forms the foundation for improved shoulder mobility.
Last updated on April 2nd, 2024
The shoulder joint is among the most flexible joints in the body. It is also highly susceptible to injuries. Thus, it’s advisable to incorporate shoulder mobility exercises before engaging in push workouts to maintain the health of the shoulder joints.
Chiropractor and powerlifter Jordan Shallow was featured on the Mark Bell Super Training Gym’s YouTube channel, offering advice for shoulder warm-up routines. Shallow detailed strategies for creating an efficient structure to ensure brief but adequate warm-ups. Dive into his insights below:
Shallow recommends approaching shoulder workouts with a chemistry-inspired perspective. To illustrate his point, he draws an analogy to the Bohr atomic model, highlighting its nucleus, orbits, and valence electrons.
Many people look at the shoulder just like the ball-in-socket, like the glenohumeral joint, but it has a core to it, and all these valences.
Shallow identifies the thoracic spine (T-spine) and rib cage as core components in this model. He suggests categorizing shoulder warm-up exercises and breaking down shoulder mobility routines into three categories:
1. The Nucleus
Category one explicitly targets the thoracic spine or ribcage with its drills. Suitable exercises for the nucleus, encompassing the thoracic spine and ribcage, include “around the world” and thoracic spine extension drills.
2. First Shell
The scapula, or shoulder blades, form the initial layer beyond the core. Shallow recommends exercises focusing on scapular retraction to enhance their function, such as band pull-aparts and face pulls.
Shallow advises incorporating drills that promote serratus anterior upward rotation to achieve balance, including serratus wall slides and push-ups. Exercises that bring the shoulder blades together contribute to downward rotation, enriching the training regimen.
3. Second Shell
The glenohumeral joints fall into category three, the “second shell.” Individuals in this category primarily struggle with internal or external rotation issues.
“The main challenges people face are related to internal or external rotation,” Shallow explains. “Essentially, they may have excessive or insufficient mobility in internal rotation, or similarly, too much or too little access to external rotation.” Therefore, Shallow recommends the [Isometric Y-W-I]s, cable external rotations, and kettlebell bottoms-up presses.
Purpose of the Framework
Shallow explains how his framework prevents exercise redundancy and allows for more customized and effective routines. They can also help identify and overcome sticking points to enhance shoulder mobility.
Strategically using this framework to plan workouts, particularly for accessory exercise selection, focused on range of motion and rotation during warm-ups, can achieve superior results.
Choosing accessory exercises is a corrective measure. They provide a preparatory warm-up for subsequent sessions and minimize the need for more extensive warm-ups.
Sample Shoulder Warmup Routine
When selecting warm-up exercises for the three categories, Shallow suggests manageable movements that are easy to adjust, enhance flexibility, and eliminate redundancy.
Enhancing range of motion in the thoracic spine and rib cage lays the groundwork for optimal scapular positioning. This facilitates better movement in the glenohumeral joint to elevate training performance. Below are sample exercises for each category:
Category One — T-Spine Rotation: Around the worlds and modified kneeling prayer stretch enhance flexibility and motion.
Category Two — Shoulder Blades: Scapular pull-ups target downward retraction. Modified scapular push-ups focus on upward rotation for improved mobility.
Category Three — Glenohumeral Joints: Proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation (PNF) shoulder internal rotations are complemented by cable external rotations and kettlebell bottoms-up presses.
For an effective shoulder warm-up, choose movements that include flexion and extension of the thoracic spine, upward or downward rotation of the scapula, and internal or external rotation of the glenohumeral joint.
On March 29, 2024, Reebok reintroduced the Nano UNKNWN Training Shoes, an updated iteration of the popular Nano UNKNWN model that first launched in 2020. The relaunch of the Nano UNKNWN Training Shoes feature with updated tech, including:
“We designed the Nano UNKNWN to pay homage to our training heritage and honor the cross-training athlete,” says Tal Short, Product Director at Reebok. “Like these athletes who embrace the unknown and unexpected, this bold silhouette is built to tackle any workout thrown your way.”
On April 5th, the all-new Reebok Nano UNKNWN will be available in the U.S. starting at $160 USD MSRP on Reebok.com and select retailers*. See more of the Reebok Nano line at https://www.reebok.com/content/training.
*Product availability and launch timing to vary per market.
It’s not all about the bench press. Chest flyes are one of my most commonly programmed upper body exercises for a reason. The pectoralis major is a massive muscle, and just pressing won’t build the shirt-popping pecs you might be aiming for. For maximum chest hypertrophy, chest flyes are going to come in handy.
The chest flye is a versatile move you can do with an array of equipment. You’ve got the classic dumbbell flye, but you can also use cables or machines. Each has its own benefits to mesh with your programming, but let’s start with the basics. Here’s how to use a chest flye machine (and why you should).
What Is a Chest Flye?
The chest flye is an upper body movement that targets the pec and anterior delt muscles. It pairs well with exercises such as the bench press or chest press machine to help build muscle in a bodybuilding routine.
Where presses typically use higher loads to stimulate your pectoral muscles, the chest flye aims for a wide range of motion and a longer lever to produce maximum muscle activation. You don’t necessarily need a huge load to do that — just some resistance, carefully controlled at chest height.
The chest flye keeps your arms long with a slight bend in the elbow. From there, you’ll perform a long sweeping motion with the end result looking like a big hug. Once I know my clients can use proper form, I’ll typically program the chest flye for higher repetitions to take advantage of the large arcing range of motion — and that sweet pump in the front of your chest.
How to Use a Chest Flye Machine
The chest flye machine is one of the best tools to build muscle. Here’s how to use it step-by-step.
Adjust the seat height of the machine such that when you sit down the handles rest at approximately armpit height.
Rotate to grab each handle individually and bring them together in front of the body, interlocking your fingers to hold the position tight.
Sit on the machine with your posture tall, resting against the back pad. This is your starting position.
Release the interlocking fingers and control the eccentric. You’re aiming to get a deep stretch in the chest muscles.
Briefly pause while stretching your pecs before starting the first concentric portion (“hugging” your arms back up to the starting position). Repeat for repetitions.
Modifications
Make it Easier: Practice the motion with cables or a resistance band secured behind you before locking into the set position of the machine. This will help you learn which way to best adjust the machine height for your body.
Make it Harder: Try to incorporate pauses at the end ranges of motion, but without letting the range extend so far that you’re recruiting your biceps and delts. Remember, this is an isolation exercise.
Coach’s Tip: Make sure you’re stopping the eccentric before feeling your biceps or delts take some of the stretch away from your chest.
Tips for Using the Chest Flye Machine
The chest flye machine is a fantastic tool for making massive chest gains. Choosing the right variation, using tempo, and aiming for a high rep sets count are excellent ways to improve progress.
Choose the Right Variation
There are many ways to perform the chest flye, and the machine is one of my favorites for my clients. Although the machine chest flye is highly stable and helps you get as close to temporary muscle failure as possible, it isn’t the only way to perform the exercise.
Depending on your goal or available equipment, machines, cables, or dumbbells are solid options for this move. Sometimes a pre-set machine doesn’t quite match your body dimensions. Each alternative allows you to tailor the load and execution to best match your needs. Don’t feel like you have to use the machine just because other folks do.
Use Tempo
Tempo is a fantastic way to ensure quality control over the chest flye. What we mean by tempo is, in this case, slowing the lowering portion of the movement down and even pausing at the end of your range of motion. With such a long lever and a high probability of some burning muscles, tempo helps keep the tension right where we want it.
Tempo is a good way to scale load for any experience level, mind you. When you’re just starting out, it helps teach you proper form. And when more advanced lifters are fatigued from a hard bench press session or just accumulating fatigue from weeks of hard training, tempo training is a smart tool for preserving our technique. It can help you avoid common mistakes like rushing through this movement or displacing load into your biceps or triceps.
Aim for Reps
The major difference between the chest flye and other upper body exercises is the long lever it uses to create the challenge. The chest press, for example, is a bent-arm exercise that’s typically loaded much heavier. With your arms extended and using a large sweeping motion, the chest flye is much more difficult with less weight.
To best stimulate your chest without breaking down technique, aiming for higher repetitions is a solid strategy. Where some of your heavier exercises — think, the dumbbell bench press — may land around six to eight reps per set, the chest flye is usually best suited around 10 to 15 reps, or possibly more if you’re chasing failure using a machine.
Machine Flye Vs. Dumbbell Flye Vs. Cable Flye Vs. Pec Deck
With the fundamentals of the chest flye accounted for, there are a handful of different variations and alternatives to choose from. Each has solid merit depending on your goal or the gym equipment you have on hand. Over my long career as a personal trainer, the machine flye, dumbbell flye, cable flye, and pec deck have all appeared in my programming for clients at some stage or another. Here’s a quick breakdown.
Machine Flye
Highly stable, fixed range of motion machine.
Excellent loading increments for slow and steady progress.
Beginner-friendly (enforces movement path) but also great for advanced athletes (helps hit failure safely).
Less stable than the machine, requiring you to control the range of motion yourself.
Highly loadable, but less forgiving with incremental jumps.
Quite accessible — most gyms have dumbbells, but not all have machines.
Cable Flye
A good intermediate between machine and dumbbell chest flyes.
Semi-stable range of motion but still challenges your control.
Extremely customizable for each body type and size.
Requires a dual cable stack station and correct handles.
Pec Dec
A unique piece of equipment that hits the chest similar to a chest flye.
Uses a “short lever” flye technique. The load is placed at the elbow with a bent arm instead of in the hand in an extended position.
More loadable than the typical chest flye because of its stability and short lever.
Older-school and a bit less common.
For Strength
For building absolute strength there are going to be other chest exercises that I’ll program with higher priority, but the chest flye is still useful here.
The machine flye is great because of the stability it offers. It’s got a higher loading potential because the machine helps keep us safe.
Dumbbells are one of the best tools for strength because they force you to stabilize the load yourself and also get super heavy.
Cables allow some of the best precision for set-up and execution, so there is no wasted energy.
The pec deck is a great blending of all of these benefits — a highly stable and loadable machine.
The Winner: Each option has its merit, but for pure strength, I’d have my clients go with the pec deck. The machine stability and load that we’re able to program make it hard to beat for absolute strength.
For Muscle Growth
Muscle growth is about a few key factors — getting the target tissue close to temporary failure and staying safe while doing it.
The machine flye stands out here because of the stability and range of motion it offers. The machine-based stability makes it a lot easier for you to get close to muscle failure and stimulate a ton of growth.
Dumbbells are a bit more challenging for pure muscle growth. Where they have a high ceiling for load, they are also one of the harder implements to control.
Cable machines provide a great mix of stability and customization. The semi-stable range of motion keeps you a bit safer in the hard reps but also allows each body size and shape more customizable options and exercise angles to generate massive gains.
The pec deck holds its own but also is a bit confining. It is a much more compact machine than even the chest flye version, making it a bit harder to recommend here.
The Winner: This one is a tie between machine and cable chest flyes. The machine version is excellent for driving pure stimulation to your pecs, but the cable version is undeniable in its ability to customize for every lifter.
For Customization
Individualizing exercise is one of the keys to my programming — both for myself and my clients. Each of the options for chest flye variations is an opportunity to choose the best tool for the job, but which offers the most customization?
The machine flye is pretty good here. It allows you to tailor the seat height and even somewhat the arm path by bending the elbow more or less, but overall the machine flye is in a pretty fixed range of motion.
Dumbbells are extremely customizable because they are a unilateral exercise. One issue, however, is the stability demands and potentially unforgiving jumps in load.
Cables are a great go-to for customization. Where pure rigid machine versions of exercise allow you to just push to failure, cables tend to be a middle ground where you need to stabilize a bit, too. Still, a positive trade-off is extreme customization.
The pec deck is similar to the machine flye in that it is a highly stable but structured range of motion. Where it loses out a bit more here is that it is a more compact machine, making it potentially a bit more prohibitive in terms of range of motion and arm position.
The Winner: Cable flyers are the gold standard for customization. With each handle, you can tailor the height, arm path, and width. So, we’d be hard-pressed to find a better solution.
FAQs
Now that we know what the machine chest flye is and how to do it, here are some frequently asked questions.
Are chest flye machines good?
Machine chest flyes are legendary tools for pectoral development. They let you do highly stimulating sets that bring the pecs close to failure without a ton of risk. Since the machine itself is keeping our range of motion stable, we’re able to stay more focused on pure effort and gains.
How do you set up a chest flye machine?
The major keys to setting up the chest flye machine are to adjust the seat height so the handles rest about armpit level. From there, aim to keep your back against the pad and drive with your legs to hold the right position.
Why when I do chest workouts do I feel it in my arms only and not in my chest?
This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but you’ll want to be on alert here. Many of your big chest exercises are compound movements — meaning they use many muscle groups simultaneously. This means that the chest, the pecs, delts, and arms are all involved in certain exercises.
This is neither good nor bad, assuming you’ve set it up correctly. The chest should still be getting worked, but you might just feel the arms fatigue more because they’re smaller muscle groups.
However, if you’re feeling a chest workout much more in your arms than your chest, it might mean you need to adjust your form, improve your mind-muscle connection with your chest, and/or strengthen your arms more so they don’t become a huge limiting factor in your chest exercises.
Before you start your cable chest workouts, try squeezing a dumbbell or yoga block at chest level with your hands, activating your chest as hard as you can. This can help you stay connected to the right muscle groups during your session.
To continue training your chest without as much interference from your smaller muscles, you may want to add in exercises like the machine chest flye to more specifically train the chest and minimize arm involvement.
Ansley acknowledged height discrepancies in Classic Physique and plans to compete in the 212 division.
Last updated on April 2nd, 2024
In March 2024, two-time Classic Physique Olympia champ Breon Ansley showcased his physique at the 2024 Arnold Classic in Ohio, where he ranked fourth overall. Two weeks later, he competed to a runner-up at the 2024 Arnold Classic UK.
Ansley shared how he is utilizing judges’ feedback and why he plans to switch to the 212 divisionin 2025 in a video published on his YouTube channel. Check it out below:
Ansley reflected on his journey the 2024 Arnold Classic, where he aimed for another victory similar to his triumph at the Arnold Classic in 2018. Ansley feels he presented one of his best physiques to date, surpassing the version that clinched him the 2018 title. He highlighted his narrow waist as a standout feature.
Ansley achieved his refined waistline by addressing digestive issues, which had been exacerbated by pre-workout powders and similar supplements, which led to acid reflux and inflammation. Eliminating those things from his regimen during the pre-season marked a significant improvement.
Despite the dietary adjustements, Ansley finished fourth in Columbus, OH, attributing the rank to the Classic Physique division’s evolving standards, which favor taller competitors with specific conditioning. Per the judge’s feedback, Ansley needs to achieve a fuller look for future competitions.
While Ansley concurs with the judges’ opinions, he outlined why a taller athlete will make their weight advantage more apparent.
“I probably agree with the judges, that if I’m 190 pounds on stage, then a taller guy at 230, 240, [or] 245 is going to look considerably bigger than me,” says Ansley. “He has a lot bigger structure and a lot more muscle, and the eyes are going to be drawn to the taller guy.”
Ansley reveals he entered the 2024 Arnold Classic UK at 194 pounds, nearly 10 pounds heavier than his weight the Ohio competition. This significant weight increase contributed to his impressive second-place finish.
Despite preferring his physique at the Arnold Classic US, Ansley admits that the closer timing of the two events necessitated some compromises in his conditioning. Specifically, he mentions a slight decline in his glutes and lower back conditioning for the UK event. However, he believes his enhanced muscularity and density suit the UK show’s requirements more favorably.
Ansley’s Plans for the Future
Consequently, Ansley decided to adopt a more comprehensive approach to his competitions throughout the year. Ansley intends to participate in a minimum of three events in addition to the Olympia this year.
Best believe the rest of this year as I compete, it’s going to be a fuller look…no matter what [or] who I’m up against.
Ansley announced 2024 will be his final year in the Classic Physique division. He attributes his departure to a difference in perspective regarding what the Classic Physique division represents. Ansley believes judges tend to favor taller competitors’ shape and structure and that density, conditioning, details, lines, symmetry, balance, and flow, are somewhat secondary.
Ansley believes the additional allotted weight at his height in the 212 division will allow him to add the high-quality muscle mass needed to score the top spot at the Olympia.
“If I’m on stage at 190-four, five, [or] six pounds with Classic, then with three to five pounds of extra tissue, I’ll be on stage at around…204, 205, [or] 206 [pounds],” said Ansley. “That’s just around six to seven pounds away from the cap, so that puts it all in perspective, and those are the plans.”
Telander takes a look at Gyllenhaal’s training plan ahead of the iconic 1989 action movie.
Last updated on April 2nd, 2024
Actor Jake Gyllenhaal is a chameleon. Not literally — in 2024’s Roadhouse, Gyllenhaal morphs into Elwood Dalton, a former MMA fighter turned hired muscle for a roadside bar. Gyllenhall is no stranger to physique transformations for film roles, but he stepped into the shoes of Dalton’s previous actor, Patrick Swayze, looking absolutely peeled.
And he has to be. After all, Gyllenhaal tangles with renowned MMA superstar Conor McGregor on screen. On March 28, strength coach and combat sports enthusiast Zack Telander took to YouTube to critique Gyllenhaal’s Roadhouse workout routine:
Telander deftly separates the worthwhile workout principles from, as he puts it, “weaponized specificity,” a term he coined to describe the idea that an athlete’s training should exactly resemble the sport they’re training for.
BarBend spoke with Telander to pick his brain on where he believes Gyllenhaal’s time in the gym was well spent and where it fell short.
About the Expert
Zack “Coach ZT” Telander is a Texas-based Certified Strength & Conditioning Specialist (CSCS) and veteran weightlifting coach with nearly a decade of experience training professional athletes and martial artists.
The Good & the Bad of Jake Gyllenhaal’s “Roadhouse” Workout Routine
Gyllenhaal trained under Los Angeles-based celebrity trainer Jason Walsh to prepare for the role. Walsh said Gyllenhaal needed “athleticism, resiliency, and overall strength” to portray Dalton authentically.
Gyllenhaal & Walsh spent most of their time mimicking the movement patterns that fighters perform regularly. But Telander thinks that, for athletes, the weight room is meant to shore up weaknesses via strength training, not replicate the training goal as closely as possible:
If you’re training for a sport, you’re already getting a lot of specific practice. Progressive overload occurs on the mats.
To that end, we asked Telander about the major strengths and weaknesses of Gyllenhaal’s Roadhouse workouts:
3 Good Aspects of Gyllenhaal’s Workout Routine
According to Telander, Gyllenhaal’s Roadhouse workouts succeed in three major ways. There’s an emphasis on constant movement, a high importance on general athleticism, and the workouts keep Gyllenhaal’s heart rate elevated.
“Walsh does a good job of keeping Gyllenhaal focused,” Telander says. “It’s a very underrated aspect of coaching — cueing the athlete well without constantly stopping them to adjust their form.”
Telander believes that Walsh succeeds in keeping Gyllenhaal “in the zone” in a way that works synergistically with his acting. “He’s learning his part in the gym, even though he’s not really acting during his workouts.”
Walsh’s workouts keep Gyllenhaal’s heart rate up high. Telander appreciates this because it ensures he burns lots of calories to lean out without doing too much cardio.
However, no training plan is perfect. Walsh and Gyllenhaal produced a spectacular on-screen result, but Telander urges caution to anyone wanting to replicate the Roadhouse training style.
Telander wished to see more cohesion in the design of the workouts. “What we see is just a snippet, but I often notice celebrity workouts utilizing too many flashy exercises that could be accomplished with one solid compound exercise,” he notes.
Telander also believes this plan may have too much variability, saying, “There doesn’t seem to be enough time spent on each aspect of athleticism to ensure that Gyllenhaal is adapting and progressing.”
There’s also an apparent lack of progressive overload to the Roadhouse workouts. “Many trainers fail to track their clients’ progress over time, or they use movements that are hard to track progress on in the first place,” Telander notes.
Zack Telander wants YOU … to train with a full range of motion, whether you’re a combat sports athlete or a regular athlete in the gym. “The biggest thing any athlete can benefit from is progressively overloaded, large range-of-motion movements,” he says. These are your barbell or dumbbell squats, rows, presses, etc.
Why? Telander explains that combat sports athletes need to learn to control their joints rather than mobilize them: “Martial artists are usually very flexible by default, so I prefer to help them learn how to control all that range of motion against a fixed load. I tend to avoid using hyper-sport-specific moves in the weight room since the athlete is getting that skill work in anyway.”
In short, if you want to adopt some of Gyllenhaal and Walsh’s training principles for your own workouts, Telander is a fan. But he thinks you should proceed with caution and focus on:
Using the weight room as an opportunity to strengthen your weaknesses with exercise that differs from your primary sport.
Training through large ranges of motion whenever possible.
Use bilateral (two-limbed) and unilateral (single leg or arm) strength training exercises, and keep your rest times relatively short to ensure your heart stays pumping — as long as it doesn’t detract from your strength or focus.
All that said, Telander can’t guarantee you’ll leave the gym looking as ripped as Gyllenhaal did during his on-screen brawls. But you can incorporate some of his workout principles to ensure your own workouts pack a punch. Roadhouse premiered on Amazon Prime on Mar. 8, 2024.
So ready for a vacay and this is the skort I’ll be wearing on the plane, exploring the city, hiking, riding ATV’s, and whale watching, while eating everything my heart desires! Oh and you bet I can even dress it up for a night out (comes in black).
I’m serious when I tell you that it is my most comfortable POPFLEX skort ever.
