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Ready for a better press? Start incorporating the iso-dynamic press to your regimen. Why? Take a look for yourself!
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The horizontal band sandbag squat, also known as the “Claborn Squat” is one of the most underrated movements in strongman training…and it might be one of the most valuable.

What makes this variation so powerful is how it forces true triple extension. As you drive out of the bottom, the bands pull you forward, demanding that you extend through the ankles, knees, and hips with intent. You can’t be passive. You have to finish the movement aggressively, just like you would in a stone load, sandbag clean, or throw.

It also teaches you how to actually use your hips. A lot of athletes rely too much on their quads and miss the explosive hip drive that separates average competitors from great ones. The horizontal resistance shifts the demand backward, forcing your glutes to engage and drive you through the lift.

This directly carries over to strongman events. Loading events require violent hip extension to get objects to platform height. Sandbag and stone cleans depend on your ability to pop the hips and finish tall. Even throwing events benefit from this pattern, where timing and extension determine distance and success.

If you want a movement that builds power, reinforces strong positioning, and translates directly to competition…this is it.

Add it in, load it heavy, and focus on finishing every rep with authority.

Learn more at www.harvestingstrength.com

The deadlift is one of the simplest lifts on paper, but it’s also one of the easiest to get wrong. Small technical mistakes can cost you pounds on the bar and increase your risk of injury. Here are the three biggest mistakes I see people make.

1. Looking too far up.
A lot of lifters crank their neck back before they even break the bar from the floor. This usually causes the bar to drift forward, increasing the distance it has to travel and making the lift much harder. Instead, keep your eyes focused slightly down in front of you. Maintain that head position until you reach your sticking point, then allow your eyes to come up as you finish the lift. This helps keep the bar close and improves your leverage.

2. Dropping your hips too low.
Many people try to squat their deadlift. When your hips start too low, your shins travel forward and push the bar away from your body. That immediately puts you in a weaker position. Rather than forcing a deep squat, think about starting with your hips around a quarter squat position. Combined with keeping your gaze slightly down, you’ll usually find a much stronger pulling position.

3. Using the wrong stance.
There isn’t one perfect deadlift stance for everyone. Your hip anatomy, limb lengths, mobility, and strengths all determine what stance will work best. Conventional, sumo, and everything in between can all be correct depending on the lifter. If you’re unsure, send me a DM with a video of your deadlift. I’ll take a look and help you figure out which stance is best for your body.

Need help getting stronger? Visit www.harvestingstrength.com for coaching, articles, and strength resources.

The iso-dynamic log press is an effective variation for improving overhead pressing strength by combining an isometric contraction with a dynamic press. During each repetition, hold the log at a predetermined position, typically near the sticking point, for 3 to 5 seconds before completing the press explosively.

The isometric portion increases force production, improves positional strength, and enhances stability in the area where many lifters struggle. Transitioning immediately into the press teaches the body to convert tension into movement, making it an excellent exercise for developing pressing power and bar speed.

This variation is particularly useful for athletes who consistently miss the same point during a heavy log press. Spending time producing maximal effort at that position can improve motor unit recruitment and strengthen the muscles and connective tissues responsible for finishing the lift.

Program the iso-dynamic log press after your primary overhead work for 3 to 5 sets of 2 to 3 repetitions using approximately 70 to 85% of your normal working weight. The goal is not to rush through the movement, but to create as much tension as possible during the isometric hold before pressing with maximum intent.

Like any specialty variation, the iso-dynamic log press should complement your regular overhead training rather than replace it. Used strategically, it can provide a unique stimulus that helps improve strength, control, and confidence under heavier loads.

For more strength training articles, coaching, and programming, visit www.harvestingstrength.com

StrengthCoach StrongmanTraining

If your bench press has stalled, it might not be because you need more volume—it might be because you’re missing one of the most effective accessory movements: the Dead Bench, also known as the Pin Press.

A lot of lifters confuse the Dead Bench with a Board Press, but they’re completely different exercises.

With a Board Press, you’re still supporting the weight the entire time. The bar never truly unloads. On a Dead Bench, however, you completely let the bar settle on the safety pins before every rep. That means there’s no stored elastic energy, no stretch reflex, and no momentum helping you. Every repetition starts from a dead stop.

Why does that matter?

Because you’re forcing your body to generate maximum force from a resting position. This places a huge emphasis on the concentric phase of the lift, which is excellent for improving motor unit recruitment, increasing nervous system efficiency, and building explosive pressing strength. If you’re slow off the chest or struggle getting heavy weights moving, this variation can be a game-changer.

Here’s how I like to program it:

➡️ After your main bench press working sets, perform either:
• One heavy set of 3 reps, OR
• 2 sets to failure using roughly 70% of your top bench set from that session.

Give this variation a few training cycles and you may find it’s the extra stimulus you need to finally push through your plateau and hit a new personal record.

Have questions about your bench press or programming? Visit www.harvestingstrength.com and I’d be happy to help.

👇 Comment “BENCH PRESS” below, and I’ll send you my FREE Bench Press Course to help you build a stronger, more powerful press!

If you want to get better at loading atlas stones, you need stronger hips, better positioning, and the ability to stay explosive while fighting fatigue. One of my favorite exercises for building those qualities is the horizontal band sandbag squat. This movement is incredible for reinforcing hip strength and development because the band anchored around the hips forces you to drive through the floor and stay aggressive throughout the entire squat.

When loading stones, athletes often struggle because they rely too much on the lower back instead of using the hips to extend powerfully into the implement. The horizontal band changes that. It teaches you to push the hips through hard, maintain posture, and create force in the exact direction you need when lapping and loading a stone. Pair that with the instability of the sandbag and you have a movement that directly transfers to strongman performance.

The sandbag also challenges the upper back, core, and grip while forcing you to brace hard under awkward load. This is important because atlas stones are never perfectly balanced. If you can stay tight and explosive with a shifting sandbag while the hips are being resisted horizontally, your stone loads will feel much smoother and more powerful.

I like programming these for moderate to high reps after heavy pulls or event work. Focus on sitting back into the hips, driving the knees out, and violently extending at the top. Don’t rush the movement. Own every rep and build the positions that carry over to competition day.

Strongman success comes from building strength in awkward positions, not just moving weight in perfect conditions.

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700-pound trap bar deadlift 💥

People often see the final lift, but they rarely see the work that goes into building it.

To reach a 700-pound trap bar deadlift, I focused on developing strength, power, and position through a series of exercises that complemented one another.

The first movement was band-resisted Hatfield squats. These allowed me to overload my lower body while maintaining stability and aggressively biasing the hip joint. The accommodating resistance from the bands forced me to accelerate through the entire range of motion while building the hip strength needed for a bigger pull.

Next came band-resisted vertical jumps. Strength is important, but the ability to rapidly produce force is just as critical. These jumps helped improve my rate of force development, teaching me to apply force quickly and explosively. The stronger and faster you can recruit muscle fibers, the more potential you have to move heavy weights.

The final piece was paused front squats. Holding the weight in front of my body challenged my posture, upper back, core, and bracing mechanics. The pause eliminated momentum and forced me to stay in strong positions under load. This carried over directly to my deadlift setup and helped me maintain better posture when attacking heavy weights.

The lesson? Big lifts are rarely built by only doing the lift itself. Strategic accessory work that addresses strength, power, and positioning can make all the difference when you’re chasing a new PR.

Want to learn more about strength development and powerlifting performance? Visit 👉 www.harvestingstrength.com

If you want a stronger deadlift, you need to train both ends of the spectrum—max effort and explosive power. One of my favorite ways to do that is pairing isometric pulls against pins with jump training.

The isometric teaches you how to produce maximal force without movement. You’re pulling as hard as possible into an immovable object, which builds intent, neural drive, and resilience in the exact position you need it most. At the same time, because there’s no actual movement, you’re placing less wear and tear on your joints and tissues. It’s a powerful way to train hard without constantly beating your body up.

Then we pair it with jumps. Why? Because now we take that high-force output and teach the body to apply it quickly. This is where power is built. Strength is your foundation, but power is what carries over to moving the bar faster and breaking through sticking points.

This superset is simple, effective, and incredibly underrated for improving deadlift performance while keeping your body fresh.

Want more training like this? Visit www.harvestingstrength.com

One of the biggest challenges for strongman athletes training in a commercial gym is finding ways to replicate event-specific demands when stones, sandbags, and other strongman implements aren’t available. That’s where exercises like the Zercher box squat can be incredibly valuable.

In this variation, I’m performing a Zercher box squat with a horizontal band attached around the hips. The front-loaded position forces the upper back, trunk, and arms to stabilize similarly to how you would when carrying or lifting a sandbag or atlas stone. The band adds another layer by pulling the hips backward throughout the movement, encouraging greater glute recruitment and teaching you to drive the hips through aggressively as you stand.

Many recognize this movement as a variation of what is called a “Claborn Squat”—a seated box squat with a front-loaded implement. In this video, however, I simply refer to it as a Zercher box squat with a horizontal band because that’s how the movement was originally taught to me years ago. Regardless of the name, the goal remains the same: develop strength that transfers to real-world loading patterns and strongman events.

I particularly like this exercise during off-season training or for athletes who don’t have regular access to strongman equipment. It allows you to build leg strength, reinforce proper hip extension mechanics, challenge trunk stability, and improve your ability to stay upright under awkward loads.

Remember, you don’t always need specialty equipment to train for strongman. Sometimes the best solutions come from creatively modifying traditional exercises to mimic the demands of competition.

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