As improvement season heats up, I’ve been doing the exact opposite of the traditional bodybuilder’s approach, and the results have been incredible.
We took eight weeks off after what was pretty much a train derailing from the tracks, and someone replaced my wife with some crazy bitch that I don’t recognize.
Seven years ago while benching 500 pounds, I experienced a partial pec tear to the muscle belly near the attachment to the pec tendon. These are the techniques I used to recover and the exercises I perform to safeguard my pec from ever tearing again.
If you struggle to find motivation and have been training for only a handful of years, I would question your passion for training. If you struggle to find motivation after training for 20 years, I feel ya.
We can argue which factors are to blame until we are blue in the face but these are the main issues.
Despite many similarities and differences between bodybuilding and powerlifting, there’s one key aspect of bodybuilding that powerlifters need most.
I recognize the value in celebrating an accomplishment, strategically spiking carbs within the context of your nutrition plan, or the need for a psychological break from the humdrum monotony of dieting. But it can go too far.
Craig speaks with passion and intelligence about his incredible journey from early backyard lifting alongside fellow gang members to becoming an international bodybuilding sensation.
I’ve neglected training both my upper and lower arms, and now I’m suffering for my lack of grip strength. Prevent this. Here’s my newfound twist on traditional arm and grip work.
This year would be my sixth, but after much soul searching I’ve decided to forgo joining the rest of the field at the Orleans Arena in September. Here’s why.
We are all a representation of our sport and industry. Which means I’m gonna have a problem with a shitbag begging for money for something he or she could pay for themselves if they weren’t so lazy and entitled.
Didn’t place? Only made last call-out? No problem — just blame your prep coach.
Lean gaining is the holy grail of bodybuilding. This article will teach you how to do it in three easy steps.
I was able to synch my first win of 2017 and an Olympia qualification with straight first place scores from both prejudging and finals. Here’s what I did differently in this season’s competition prep.
You can spend months dieting and training in preparation to show your best on stage, but if you screw up in the final 30 minutes, what you’re left with is a sub-optimal package and poor placement.
You should integrate the Smith machine into your sessions with the intention of creating a new stimulus, taking advantage of its ability to let you push past a normal threshold of muscular failure. Here are my favorite ways to do so.
Science, intelligence reports, and training programs all require a thesis whereby assumptions are made on the path to turning raw information into good insight.
We have a current state of back development in the sport that erectors are thick and upper backs overpower lat development. There’s a reason for this — and a way to fix it.
Tailored for the powerlifter and bodybuilder, we revisit Dave Tate’s and Mark Dugdale’s conversation covering exercise execution, pre-workout food, recoverability, training evolution, and more.
Given the advantage of hindsight and the progress I enjoyed during a productive six month off-season, it’s time to share the most valuable lessons from placing all my efforts on getting big without letting my physique get sloppy.
If you’re beat up from powerlifting or more concerned with hypertrophy, some of these variations may prove useful. In all honesty, alternatives of the basic lifts have done the most for the development of my physique and hypertrophy.
In my entire life of training, I’ve only ever had six training partners, and never more than one at a time. Now I have two. That’s right — there are three of us.
Bulk up your back, strengthen your deadlift, and learn to activate your lats with this one exercise.
Many first-time competitors end up as only-time competitors because they neglect to take the right precautions before beginning their prep. Follow these rules to avoid letting your first show be your last.
I can’t help but be annoyed at what has come of this generation in the gym. Basketball shorts over tights? Nalgene bottles? Functional exercises? What is wrong with these kids?
These underlying training principles contribute to keeping your body healthy, growing, recovering, and building muscle over the long-term. You simply need to follow them.
After being plagued with injuries for six years, these three things got me back to pushing legs 100% without risk of injury.
John Meadows’ expertise on shoulder training filled a void in the atmosphere of bodybuilding information. I’ve incorporated rear delt work with all of my clients, and I’ve learned a few things along the way.
Most people who step under the bar want to get big and strong, period. Muscle failure is paramount in this regard. Here’s how to use it properly to build muscle without overloading your central nervous system or risking injury.
I had another birthday, which meant the return of my annual day spent obsessing over my age. This time I realized something new: I know how I want to die.
Intensity is much talked about in bodybuilding, but what is it? Is it taking sets to failure? Lots of volume? Dropsets? Supersetting?
A lower back injury doesn’t have to mean the end of your training days. Here’s one of my go-to methods for continuing to train hard and make progress.
Say your quads, hamstrings, and glutes are capable of handling 500 pounds in the squat, but (because of weakness, tightness, or overuse), your adductors can only handle 400. Not a good look.
I have been asked so many times lately about rear delts that I figured I would make this the topic for the second edition of Body Mechanics 101.
Effectively train your hamstrings with these hacks and find yourself sitting a few inches taller.
If you want full back development, you’re going to have to stop focusing on the deadlift.
You can control the physical demands placed on your body in the gym, but you can’t always control what happens outside of it. How can you ensure you’re recovered and in an optimal state once its time to train?
Want grip strength like a bear and biceps like baseballs?
It may be tempting to put your entire trust in someone with experience, but there are a few things to consider first.
Your time on this earth is limited, and much shorter than you likely realize. Don’t waste it.
I see terrible training mistakes on an almost daily basis, and not just the ones veteran meatheads like to post on social media to poke fun at someone in the gym who doesn’t know any better.
Number of competitions? Severity of injury? Conditioning and size? Powerlifting total?
Longevity in this sport requires taking care of your body, but perhaps more importantly it requires taking care of your life.
As with any training-related goal, there’s a great way to go about things, and a not-so-great way to go about things. Let’s get into four of the finer points of shedding your unwanted fluff.
I’ve studied and experimented with Vince Gironda’s methods my entire training career. He has had a major impact on me as a trainer and lifter.
Do genetic ceilings exist? How can you know if you’ve reached yours? Is it possible to break through?
The first part of training for longevity is ensuring that your body’s central nervous system can adequately handle the demands of your program.
Mark and Dave share their combined knowledge in both powerlifting and bodybuilding, gained from multiple decades honing their respective crafts.
You know the importance of protein, carbohydrates, and fats, but are you overlooking the finer details such as fiber and what types of fats are best?
You can use five sets for strength building, you can use it for hypertrophy, you can use it for power, and you can change it to suit whatever particular goal you have.
I’m 22 weeks into my off-season and implementing some unique tweaks to my back training.
Performing best, and especially looking your best for the sport of bodybuilding, requires that your body be functioning well on the inside. Mark shares how he has accomplished this throughout his career.
The following details my secondary back workout. I slightly deviated from the plan because the workout took place at the elitefts Compound and Dave Tate took over the biceps programming portion.
The off-season should be called the improvement season. It’s the time when you make the most progress and work on weak areas. Don’t waste it.
There is a difference between what I want now and what I want most.
Get a bigger bench and boulder shoulders with this easy movement.
Having big, strong arms is more than just something to flex and brag about. It shows health, vitality, and does absolute wonders for your confidence. And all you have to do to achieve them is train your arms intelligently.
Moving increasingly heavier weight from point A to B served me well until I tore my pec benching 500 pounds and blew out my lower back squatting 700. Now I find new ways to add intensity.