He's Skinny But INSANELY Strong! (HERE'S HOW)

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.

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 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).

[athleanx]

*VIEWER GIVEAWAY* - I’m giving away my brand new complete 90 Day Beaxst PPL program to 40 lucky clickers within the first hour this video is published! Remember, this is NOT THE FIRST 40, but those randomly selected within the first hour the video is published. Click the link to see if you’ve won. No strings attached! Clicking twice does nothing. Only one entry per video. Remember to watch to the end for more workouts.

If you don’t win, no worries, you’re not going away empty handed. Just be sure you have your notifications turned on so you can get to my next video quickly and try again. Good luck and thanks for being a loyal subscriber…

[ellenyoung]

I’ve always enjoyed Jesse but it’s even better these days because he really earned Jeff’s respect and I like seeing them interact as equals. Also Jesse’s strength gains are impressive.

[JaredMarvel]

Everyone who's watched this channel for a long time and saw where Jesse started is extremely impressed with Jesse's gains! And anyone that has been around power lifting knows a 3.33x BW deadlift is very impressive, especially after only a few years of dedicated training! Crazy strong! The comedic relief Jesse brings to all the videos has complimented Jeff's more serious technical teaching approach really well. You guys make a good team.

[rich]

Get it Jesse! I love your progression. It's very inspirational!!!

[danbrunski]

I've been training consistently since 1979, been in a lot of gyms, trained with and seen a lot of strong lifters and those lifts are pretty impressive for a natural guy. The problem today is that most of the people we see posting on social media are on the sauce and watching the weights they lift skews the viewers' perceptions of what heavy is. 3.3x bodyweight deads, 2.6 squat and 100lb dbl presses at 165 are no joke. Props to you.

[kraftbaisden]

I do get motivated when i see Jessies videos, hes come a long way and a real inspiration for myself who still has a lot to go.

[Korriel]

I’ve always been a hard gainer, and seeing Jesse’s progress has been super inspirational because it’s real and shows me the kind of realistic gains I can get with hard work. It’s something I can believe I can achieve, because so many people end up giving up thinking this is only achievable by giving up being natty

[ThrottleoutTV]

You are a big reason why I started to workout Jesse, I'm 37 years old and skinny my whole life (6'1 at 165 lbs). Been doing jacked for 1 month now and weight 173 lbs. Keep it up Jesse!

[travisolander]

5:13 Arguably the most important piece of advice, for all lifting and gains, period. I've done exactly this as a "skinny dude" and my back exploded. You're still in the stretched position with half- and quarter-reps. That's where it counts most.

[agi]

Jesse should be appreciated most for not quitting and carrying on working out and trying to improve, kudos for that.

[cardiacdrummer]

Look at those sexy angles! Way to stay consistent over the years man, definitely an achievement.
I started the PPL that you guys posted years back. After recovering from a shoulder surgery and back injury, over the past two years I have went from 8 lb dumbbells to 30’s. Might not seem like much but I went from dad-bod 160 lb body to a now very fit/strong 160 lbs. it took a bit since I couldn’t lift heavy but I’m the strongest I have ever been and seeing the results is a definite bonus

[JimBronke]

This is one of my favorite athlean - X videos as it really ties into the need for many lifters to lose weight. I have been powerlifting I am 73 now and I have been powerlifting for four years and because of the virus shutting down salad bars I gained a lot of weight. Once I got on track again with losing weight I found myself going down in weight categories in powerlifting but losing strength. I don't think it can be helped especially because some of my weight loss is implemented by fasting and certainly dramatic losses in weight cause you to lose strength but there really does need to be a different mindset in the power lifting community that more body weight is not necessarily good. It is certainly well documented to be unhealthy. Well I now have state records in Michigan in my age category and some lower for a whole bunch of weight categories and it's my plan to keep losing weight. So keep promoting being lean it's really good.

[toddr]

I love how great Jesse is at explaining!! Especially at deadlifting and I will try this technique! Very impressive lifts

[ShinzoX]

This video style is 10X better then your last solo video jessie, keep it up man you keep getting better. This one actually feels much more like an athleanX video.

[Tyrantteemo]

I lost ~15 kg (~85 -> 70 kg) in the last few months and yet increased the weights for all exercises (~15 -> 28kg dumbell incline bench press, ~10 -> 24 kg dumbell shoulder press, 40-50 -> 80-90 barbell rows, doubled my dips & pull up reps, and others...). This just motivates me even more, thanks :)

[briancollins]

Every vid with Jesse is dynamite! The info is there and the delivery has my attention from start to finish. Best team ever!!! Love AthleanX

[diemervdberg]

personally also a big fan of db bench press since I learnt it here. Makes it easier for me without shoulder problems and pushing my feet into the ground helps as well. Such a great channel!

[Amshnock]

your videos have helped me alot over 1year. I started 170lbs 15inc arms flexed. never worked-out before. could do single arm curls with 20lbs for 12rep. I did your add an inch workout everyday for a month and I got my inch. So I wanted more. I lifted for the rest of the year no rest days.hit 235lbs. I did a cut for a few months. I now weigh 210lbs with 19inch arms flexed. Was doing single are curling 55lbs for 12. hammer curls 70lbs for 10. I hurt my back and dropped in strength. Im coming back not giving up. My goal for the next year is 230lbs lean. Then the demons cant hurt me no more.Jesse you have come a long way from cleaning the gym and you are a grate addition to his videos..

[nomnomyourmother]

0:20 Measurement
0:55 Deadlift (550)
1:30 Squat (430)
2:55 Injury
3:25 Bench Press (100 each)
4:55 Pullup (165+45)
5:50 ...

[chrissterba]

So LOVED THIS VIDEO!!! You two really compliment each other and keep this real for all of us (and for the typical of us) to aspire to! Thank you so much for all that you do!!!