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TWO NEW SHIRTS. SAME HARVESTING STRENGTH ATTITUDE. 💀🔥“Harder to Kill” and “Day of the Deadlift” are here, and both desig...
10/23/2026

TWO NEW SHIRTS. SAME HARVESTING STRENGTH ATTITUDE. 💀🔥

“Harder to Kill” and “Day of the Deadlift” are here, and both designs bring a little more personality to your next training session.

These shirts are for the people who keep showing up. The ones grinding through difficult training blocks, chasing another PR, and finding a way to get stronger when life refuses to make it easy.

Harder to Kill is a reminder to build strength that carries beyond the gym. Day of the Deadlift celebrates getting your hands on a heavy bar and bringing it off the floor.

Whether you’re a powerlifter, strongman, or someone who simply loves lifting, I wanted these designs to feel at home in your rotation.

Both shirts are available for $20 each!

Grab your favorite—or get both—and represent Harvesting Strength wherever you train. I appreciate everyone supporting what I’m building.

Shop at www.harvestingstrength.com

A stronger bench press starts before the bar ever leaves the rack. Your setup establishes the foundation for every rep—a...
10/23/2026

A stronger bench press starts before the bar ever leaves the rack. Your setup establishes the foundation for every rep—and your shoulder blades are a big part of that foundation.

Scapular retraction means bringing your shoulder blades toward each other. During the barbell bench press, this helps create a firm upper back position against the bench, giving you a consistent platform to press from.

Your chest, shoulders, and triceps produce the pressing action, while your upper back helps maintain your position. When that position changes halfway through a rep, your touch point and bar path can change with it. Consistency becomes especially valuable when the weight gets heavy.

Think about setting your shoulder blades before the unrack, keeping your chest elevated comfortably, and maintaining pressure through your upper back. You want a position you can hold throughout the set without forcing an exaggerated arch or aggressively cranking your shoulders downward.

The descent matters, too. Your pecs, anterior deltoids, and triceps control the lowering phase while your upper back supports your setup. Lower the bar deliberately, touch consistently, and keep your position as you transition into the press.

One mistake I see is reaching the shoulders forward to finish the rep. Finish by extending your elbows while keeping your upper back planted, rather than chasing extra height by rolling your shoulders off the bench.

Practice this with your warmups. If you cannot repeat your setup with lighter weights, adding plates usually makes that inconsistency more obvious.

Build the habit: set your shoulders, establish your feet, control the descent, and press with intent. A repeatable setup gives you something concrete to refine as your strength develops.

Want help improving your bench press technique and building a stronger total? Explore personalized online strength coaching at www.harvestingstrength.com.

Save this before your next bench session.

10/22/2026

HOLD IT. THEN DRIVE IT. 💀🔥

The isodynamic log press combines an isometric effort with a dynamic press: create tension without movement, then put that force into motion.

Why use it? Because pressing a heavy log requires more than strong shoulders. You need a stable rack position, a rigid trunk, and the ability to transfer force through your body into the implement. The isometric portion challenges your ability to maintain position under tension. The dynamic portion challenges your ability to produce movement with intent.

During an isometric contraction, your muscles generate force while the joint position stays relatively fixed. A hard effort demands substantial motor unit recruitment, even though the implement isn’t moving. Pairing that effort with a press gives us a way to practice holding position and then accelerating through the movement.

There’s also a potential short-term performance benefit called post-activation performance enhancement. Certain conditioning efforts can improve subsequent explosive performance, but the response depends on the athlete, intensity, duration, and recovery. A longer, harder hold can create enough fatigue to slow the press instead. More tension doesn’t automatically mean more power.

And this concept goes beyond the log.

Pair an isometric squat with jumps. Pair a pull against immovable pins with an explosive deadlift. Pair an isometric press against pins with explosive push-ups. Choose positions and movements that support the quality you’re trying to develop.

For power work, keep the isometric effort brief, allow enough recovery, and judge the pairing by the speed and quality of the dynamic movement. If performance drops, adjust the dose.

These are programming applications of broader research, rather than proof that this exact log variation outperforms traditional pressing.

Build tension. Own your position. Then attack the movement.

Train with purpose at www.harvestingstrength.com and make every set serve the demands of your sport.

10/22/2026

The Circus Dumbbell is one of the most technical events in strongman, and small adjustments can make a huge difference in how stable and efficient the lift feels. Here are three tips that can instantly improve your CDB performance.

First, tuck your armpit and engage your chest and lats. A lot of athletes let the dumbbell drift around during the lift, which wastes energy and makes the press unstable. By squeezing the armpit tight and creating tension through the upper body, you can keep the circus dumbbell motionless and connected to your body throughout the lift. Stability creates strength.

Second, kick the circus dumbbell away during the clean so the head of the dumbbell rests on your shoulder. Too many athletes try to hold all the weight in their hand and arm, which burns out the grip and makes the press harder than it needs to be. Letting the dumbbell sit on the shoulder transfers more load into the body and gives you a much stronger initial press.

Finally, lean into the dumbbell. Shift toward the hip that is supporting the weight so your joints stack properly underneath the implement. This creates better balance, improves force transfer, and helps you stay upright during the press. If you stay too centered, the dumbbell will often pull you out of position and make the lockout much harder.

Mastering the circus dumbbell is all about efficiency, positioning, and staying tight from start to finish.

www.harvestingstrength.com

10/19/2026

It’s Movement MONDAY! Send me your videos, and I’ll get you feedback on what I feel would be best to help elevate your performance!
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10/17/2026

Michelle taking 485 POUNDS for a reverse band squat! 🔥

Heavy weight, serious focus, and a purpose behind every rep.

Reverse band squats are a valuable tool because they change how much assistance you receive throughout the movement. The bands stretch as you descend, providing their greatest assistance near depth. As you stand, that assistance decreases, progressively placing more of the bar’s weight on you.

Why does that matter?

The bottom of a squat is a mechanically demanding position. You have to maintain your brace, control your hips and knees, and produce enough force to reverse direction. Reverse bands help manage the load through that challenging position while still requiring your muscles to work.

The bands provide assistance at depth; your muscles provide the tension needed to control the squat. That distinction matters when understanding why we use this movement.

With the right setup, we can expose Michelle to heavier loading through the stronger portions of her squat while keeping the bottom manageable. That creates an opportunity to practice staying organized, maintaining position, and driving through the ascent under substantial weight.

People often call this “overloading the nervous system.” More precisely, we’re practicing the coordination and force production required to handle heavy loads. There’s no magic switch that guarantees strength gains, but purposeful exposure can help build familiarity and confidence.

Research suggests assisted band squats can accommodate heavier loads and alter performance through the sticking region. That supports their use as one tool within a complete strength program.

We still train regular squats and develop strength around depth. Reverse bands complement that work by letting us challenge heavier loading with assistance where it’s needed most.

Proud of Michelle for attacking this with intent. Every variation has a job. This one earns its place.

Build your strength:
www.harvestingstrength.com

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