Have you wondered how someone can be skinny but insanely strong? In this video, I am going to cover how Jesse is not the biggest guy in the room, but is certainly crazy strong, especially for his bodyweight. Not only that, but Jesse is going to share with you his tips for getting insanely strong while being skinny.
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First things first, people often get wrong Jesse's dimensions when they take a look at him. Some of his stats may actually surprise you.
Height: 5 foot, 10.75 inches
Weight: 165 lbs
So while he doesn't look like he can lift any crazy weights, you might just be surprised at how strong Jesse really is. Believe me, it's probably a lot stronger than most would think he would be based on his body size.
The first lift that Jesse covers is the deadlift and what he did to get to the point where he hit a 550 lb deadlift personal best. His first tip for skinny guys looking to get strong is to use leverages to your advantage and utilize the wedge. Instead of pulling the bar straight up his shins and thighs, he pulls the bar back into his legs while pulling straight up. By "wedging" himself under the bar, he finds that lifting hundreds of pounds off the ground to be a lot easier.
The second tip for the deadlift is the change in volume and intensity that Jesse was doing when it came to his deadlift sessions. He decided to trade in volume for intensity to get insanely strong. This meant that instead of performing sets of 5 or more reps, Jesse was performing singles, doubles, and triples with heavier weight than he normally would. Obviously, he had to cut back how many deadlift sessions he was doing each week, but the trade of volume for intensity worked for him.
For skinny guys looking to get stronger legs and a stronger squat, Jesse has two tips here that helped him to build up to a 430 lb squat. First is a tip on technique and squat form; raising the chest while moving it at the same time as the pelvis. Instead of "pointing the nipples to the ground", he raised his chest up and pinched his shoulder blades back, which in turn helped him to move his hips at the same time as his chest when ascending on the squat.
The second tip the Jesse has for skinny guys to get stronger is based on, again, his programming. Because the squat is not as taxing on the body, he was able to do 3 squat sessions every 10 days. However, he was still using heavy enough weight to be performing triples, doubles, and single repetitions.
While some might say that there is no way that Jesse is a strong bench presser, they might be right, but for a reason you might not expect. He broke his collarbone snowboarding a few years back and it has caused him some pain and discomfort whenever he performs the barbell bench press. However, Jesse made an adjustment and instead of benching through pain or not benching at all, he utilized dumbbells instead.
While you might not think a skinny guy is strong, especially when it comes to bench pressing, you might be surprised by Jesse's strength. His first tip for getting stronger on the bench press is to eliminate the discomfort. To do this, Jesse took a tip from Jeff and found the proper "touch point" on his chest. This allowed for the stacking of the elbow under the wrist under the dumbbell which helped create stability an stability is one of the key things to look for when dealing with shoulder pain or discomfort.
Jesse's second tip to get stronger on the bench press is to utilize a technique called leg drive. Leg drive allows you to almost slide your body up the bench which helps create a small amount of momentum to help press heavier weight. This applies to both the dumbbell bench press and the barbell bench press.
I'm sure you've heard the argument that pullups are easy for anyone that's skinny. However, to get really strong on the pullup, Jesse has two tips that you can bring to the gym with you. The first tip is to add weight to the exercise. Doing weighted pullups, even a few sets and reps, will help you get stronger so that when you return to bodyweight, you will fly up and down on the bar.
Be sure to watch the video for Jesse's second tip on how to get stronger on the pullups.
If you want to get strong just like Jesse, you can find the same workout plans that he followed to get insanely strong over at athleanx.com
If you are looking for more videos on how to get not just stronger, but more muscular as well, be sure to subscribe.
Jeff Cavaliere MSPT, CSCS served as both the head physical therapist and assistant strength coach for the New York Mets. Jeff earned his Masters of Physical Therapy and Bachelor’s of Physioneurobiology from the College of Health Sciences University of Connecticut Storrs. He is a certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist by the National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA).