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Introduction So you've done your research and you think you're ready for your first cycle. Let me first tell you that the chances of you being ready based on your research is slim to none. In this article I hope to deliver important information that is often missed or looked over during...

"Why am I not getting stronger?" Probably because you're breaking the rules. Follow these eight rules and save yourself years of frustration and weakness. 1. Train Consistently Consistency is the name of the game, and the lifter who trains week in and week out will experience steady gains in...

There was a time when the image of masculinity was characterized by super-hero like size, round muscle bellies, and low body fat percentages. The former ideal physique was epitomized by Sly Stallone or perhaps even Arnold in Commando. These men sculpted physiques that not only looked strong, but...

Physique athletes consume the blandest, most boring foods on the planet. Their core diet seems dominated by cans of plain tuna and cottage cheese consumed by people who don't even like the stuff, and boiled chicken breasts limply tossed into some Tupperware and choked down several times a day...

Remember when Chris Farley used to talk about living in that van? You know, the one down by the river? That's me, except it's not a van and it's not down by the river. But yeah, I basically live in my car. You see, I'm a trainer who goes to people's houses all day long to work them out, so...

Who has time to cook a few extra chicken breasts every few days? Who has time to make a big pot of rice or potatoes? Someone should invent a kitchen appliance where you just throw the meat and starches in overnight and BAM, cooked food for the week. That would be amazing. That's a zillion...

If you've been training for a decent amount of time, you've made some mistakes. It's part of the process. But doing your homework can definitely save you some time and energy. It would be nice if there existed a simple answer or method to get us to our goals in the shortest possible time, but...

The inverted row is a fantastic exercise to build upper-back strength and size. It offers a fresh alternative to cable, barbell, and dumbbell row. And the inverted row is fast and easy to set up with suspension straps, Smith machine, or a bar in the rack. The inverted row is also a great way...

GROWN MEN DON'T NEED BRO SPLITS You're not 15 anymore. The traditional bro split where you train one body part each workout (usually 5 workouts a week) isn't efficient or effective, especially for an adult with a job who actually communicates with real-live women in their non-pixilated form...

After years in the iron game, PRs get harder to hit. There comes a point where you can't just go to the gym each day and pull a new personal best out of your butt. If you're an advanced lifter you'll need a better strategy and maybe a "trick" or two to continue to up your poundages. If you're...

FREE WEIGHTS VS. MACHINES I've become less of a "tribal" thinker over the years. Earlier in my career, I believed that resistance-training machines were inferior to free weights. I'd argue that machines only required you to overcome the resistance, not control it. Put another way, I believed...

Most guys want a big chest, a wide back, and defined arms. Some fall short. Why? They add too much "fluff" to their workouts. If you're natural and dedicate more than half of your exercises to isolation movements like chest flyes, curls, or tricep extensions, you're doing a lot of extra work...

NO GAINS? DROP THE FLUFF If you're not happy with your progress in the gym and your motivation is lagging, don't add more to your workout plan. Instead, simplify. Take a look at how you've been training the last couple of months. There's a chance you've been overdoing it, either by having done...

Enough about the "Big 3" already. As a non-powerlifter and someone who trains non-powerlifters, I get annoyed with the powerlifting mentality that often seeps into the rest of the strength training world that places the bench press, squat, and deadlift on top of the exercise hierarchy as primary...

ALL PAIN HAPPENS IN THE BRAIN There's the old joke about shoulder injuries with lifters. The coach asks, "How many of you have a bad shoulder?" Half the group puts up their hands. The other half can't. Lots of lifters weaned on the "no pain, no gain" mantra think they should just tough pain out...

Most guys do some form of paused bench press... if they aren't ego lifters. Bring the bar down, pause at the chest, do some repping. Sweet. It's great in theory, but the application is sometimes lacking. Where? The pause itself. The whole point of the pause is to reduce the rebound from the...

Dumbbell rowing is essential. But most lifters don't spend a whole lot of time doing it, either because they're making some common mistakes and not getting results or because they're not aware of the benefits. So let's get into those. MISTAKES TO AVOID DURING DUMBBELL ROWS 1. TWISTING The goal...

Beginners trying to lose body fat don't need to follow an advanced fat loss program in order to get results. If you're fat, you're fat, and following an advanced training program won't necessarily speed up the process. All you really need to do is move. The same can be said about newbie...

Your Program + Two Boosters = New Muscle Mass! This article isn't going to overwhelm you with neuroscience or obscure language. Nope, it's going to be bare-bones simple. As I've learned over the years, elementary advice is usually what helps people most, and it tends to work best. With that in...

BODYBUILDING, ARMS Your arm workout might be missing something. What is it? It's RESULTS. Many lifters just can't seem to build their biceps with standard curls. There's a reason for that: their other muscle groups are trying to help out. If you're using lower-body assistance, involving the...