Thanksgiving will leave you feeling like that butterball on the dinner table, unless you plan accordingly.
Aside from a super pump, what’s going on in your muscles when you do Blood Flow Restriction training? A lot. Here’s what we know.
Building a garage gym is an investment that can save you time and money in the long run. Take it from one powerlifter who built her own garage gym; here are some things to keep in mind.
This isn’t a hickey from your teenage years; the kind of hickey I’m talking about is created from a recovery modality known as “cupping.” Does cupping work, or is it just a fad that could leave you bruised and broken? OK, it DOES leave bruises, but broken? Not so much.
My time spent in Italty resulted in the opposite of what happens to Elizabeth Gilbert in “Eat Pray Love.” I didn’t gain weight — I lost weight. The more I thought about it, the weight loss probably came from the quality of food in Italy. No ultra-processed foods here!
Even if you’re doing all the right things, sometimes the fat won’t come off. One possible explanation for this could be insulin resistance. If you are insulin-resistant, it might help to try some supplements. These are four I’ve used with success.
I don’t think most bodybuilders who use insulin as a performance enhancer truly understand WHY they are using it and what it can actually do to their bodies — both good and bad. So let’s dive into the nitty-gritty on the subject of insulin…
Obesogens are kind of exactly what they sound like: a chemical that can heavily contribute to obesity. Get to know some of them by name, learn how to avoid them, and potentially drop some body fat.
Seeking expert-advice? Think of this article as a battery replacement for your bullshit detector. Believe it or not, there are pseudo-experts out there who think that just because they did programs, they worked, and they got world records that they are now qualified to be considered experts.
By no means is this article medical or technical advice to anyone on how to keep training through an injury, but instead, it’s a story of how I handled mine. Why? Because I believe that sometimes, guidelines are meant to be broken.
Are IR saunas really THAT beneficial? Do they truly have weight loss, detox, and anti-aging abilities?
All too often, I see people missing the importance of thinking about the muscle-brain connection when it comes to training. And that’s a bit of a shame because creating neural pathways that allow you to train and move correctly is a component of making gains.
Is it actually easier to regain lost muscle and strength than it is to build it for the first time?
We all share about 99.9% of the same genes. It’s only 0.1% that makes us unique, but that 0.1% can make a big difference in your physique and performance.
The idea behind antioxidant supplementation is that antioxidants reduce free radical damage and subsequent muscle soreness, thereby improving recovery. But what if those pesky free radicals are necessary for hypertrophic training adaptations?
Collagen is one of the most abundant proteins in the human body and is part of connective tissues, muscles, bones, tendons, and blood vessels. Naturally, this means people are experimenting with its supplemental use.
As a scientist who studies the fundamental basis of how muscles get bigger and repair in response to stress, and as a lifter who has always cared a bunch about programming, I find the debate surrounding GAS very interesting.
Muscle is a constant consumer of energy and fat is an organ that stores it, but they do share some common cell lineage. Can one become the other?
If you’re looking for a way to restore muscle function and promote muscle growth, a trip to the massage table may be the answer.
Inflammation is your body’s biological response to harmful stimuli, which in this case is the damage induced to your muscles from training. But trying to ward it off with NSAIDs and ice may be a mistake.
Following one, any, or all of these suggestions is a solid way to help prevent packing on some holiday pounds and to keep your strength gains strong.
Protein bars are a great way to escape meal prep, track calories, and save time, but there are some downsides that have made me decide to part ways with them.
The more people calling out incorrect uses of references and sharing well-compiled articles, the better shot we have at preventing the growth of new fitness and nutrition myths.
Worried that too much cardio could hinder your muscle growth? Performed the right way, at the right time, low-intensity aerobic activity can actually improve muscle hypertrophy.
The running idea in the field of muscle is that you can increase the cross-sectional area of a muscle cell (hypertrophy) but not the number of cells per muscle (hyperplasia). Is this idea accurate?
Why is it that calves are one of the hardest muscle groups to grow? Here are three points to consider to develop heart-shaped calves like a sprinter or running back.
The fundamental molecular basis underlying muscle growth is complicated, but that doesn’t mean building muscle has to be difficult.
Stalled progress can occur for a number of reasons. Which of these solutions will be the key to restarting your progress?
Buddy was one of the first people I ever looked up to, both as a person and as a strength and conditioning coach. Here are some of his best one-liners from the weekend.
It really seems like most people don’t care about corrective exercises and prehab until chronic injury and age rear their ugly heads. Enter: my current life situation and the solution.
The start of a new year isn’t going to make you a better person or a stronger, leaner, fitter lifter. If you really want to reach your goals in 2017, there are three things you’re going to need.
I thought about competing in powerlifting for nearly a year before actually signing up for a meet. Then I learned that I wasn’t going to figure out what I needed to do to improve as a lifter if I didn’t test my abilities and face my failures.
Let’s tackle some of the issues contributing to failed attempts at creating a negative energy balance.
To better understand how exercise intensity dictates fuel use, and what this means in respect to the fat burning zone, we need to review the energy systems your body can rely on during exercise.
You don’t have to turn BYOB into BYOF (bring your own food, often in a cooler).
I had a training ego. It drove everything I did — every weight I put on the bar, every lift I took, and the design of every workout. And then one day, my training ego gave up.
Your body must undergo multiple stages of adaptation before you decide whether or not your training program is working for you. Patience, my friend. Patience.
It may be small, but this endocrine organ controls whether you can eat ice cream and be lean or eat a salad and be overweight. How can you know if yours is operating properly?
If you follow the guidelines of your program without understanding the reasons for the methods, you’re missing two things that will make or break your progress: individuality and specificity.
On the quest for hypertrophy? Take note of these facts before shunning cardio.
It’s only a matter of time before I fail again. I used to cringe at the thought of failing, but not anymore.
With autoregulation, a system such as RPE can help manage life stressors and account for nueromuscular processes on a given day…but only if you use it correctly.
Weight cuts are one of the worst parts of powerlifting. Here are the ins and outs of the entire process and why you might respond differently than your fellow competitor.
Trying to determine your best path through academia and into professional health and fitness? Here’s a guide to choosing the right degree.
With this program, each mesocycle (aka 3 weeks/microcycles) focuses on a different portion of a muscle action. In other words – This will make you STRONG(ER).
Parental Project Muscular Dystrophy Association conference gave Petrosino a sobering realization.
It’s not about whether it’s right or wrong…it’s about if you’re doing it right!
Having a problem with your programming? Jennifer Petrosino can break it down for you.
Once again, Jennifer Petrosino is ready and willing to help answer your questions.
Jennifer Petrosino takes an outside look at this four-day block rotation program.