Tensing your abs will amplify the intensity of the contraction of any muscle in your body.
Strength has a greater purpose.
If you think you are only strong if you can lift a certain number, whatever that number is, you will feel pretty weak most of the time. Strength is not a data point; it’s not a number. It’s an attitude.
The Kettlebell is an Ancient Russian Weapon Against Weakness.
If you are wondering what ‘strong’ is, it is probably not you.
The one arm one leg pushup is an exercise in total body tension.
Take a close look at a squat, barbell, or bodyweight – it makes no difference. Both the quadriceps and the hamstrings are working toward the common goal of standing up. The quads are extending the knees, and the hammies are extending the hips.
Everything in your body is interrelated and isolation is a myth.
Push from your armpit, rather than your shoulder.
An aside that will appeal to the well-rounded reader: A creative high that increases physical and mental work capacity is accompanied by noradrenaline secretion. Perhaps this explains why the samurai were equally proficient at war and poetry.