Special guest post by world record holding deadlift champion, Andy Bolton The Deadlift is a superb exercise. Now you might think I’m biased, given that I’m pretty good at it (In case you don’t know – I’m that big dude that’s pulled over a 1000lbs. Twice)… that said – by the time you’ve finished reading this article I’m sure you’ll want to start hitting the deadlift HARD. Here are 7 reasons why the Deadlift is a superb exercise for serious Athletes… 1. If you’re a bodybuilder, or a guy who wants to be JACKED, very few things add slabs… continue reading.

Man, I’ve really been on some grubbin’ streak lately. It seems like every time I turn around over the last two weeks another one of my friends is in town wanting to meet up for dinner at one of LA’s finest restaurants. While my wife is a five star chef and makes incredible meals each night it’s always nice to get out amongst the people, give the local females a thrill and order half the items on the menu. Or in the case of a recent brunch at Post in Manhattan Beach with my long time buddy, Mike Schwalb- everything… continue reading.

There’s a helluva a lotta cats out there addicted to pre-workout stimulants. Gotta be cranked for your workout; bouncing off the walls or ready to run through ‘em. So you slug down a triple espresso and stack with it with some 3 Hour Energy Blaster, NO Explode-aria and whatever else they sell at the checkout counter of GNC. Anything short of an 8-ball of coke is fair game. After twenty minutes or so it starts kicking in and you feel superhuman. You’re no longer a guy who barely slept because you were stressed out all night or the guy who… continue reading.

An RSC Exclusive Report – Sign up HERE to become a member today. 13 Rules For Injury Free Training – By Keith Scott LEARN to listen to your body! Being intuitive to what your body is telling you is not easy, but if you take the time to really “listen” you will be able to master it and know when to back off, ramp up, or modify. The obvious sign is pain….if it hurts, stop doing it! But the more subtle forms of pain and dysfunction are harder to notice at first. Here are a few pointers: 1 –… continue reading.

One of the most frequently asked nutrition questions I get is, “How many carbs should you eat per day to build muscle?” Everyone always focuses on protein but if you want to get jacked carbs are crucial. High fat and Paleo style eating can be great for getting lean but not for getting big. That job requires some rice and potatoes. Carb intake should be directly correlated to weekly training volume. For example, let’s say Billy does an old school 5×5 routine twice per week because he believes that as a hardgainer that’s all the training he can handle. There… continue reading.

Recipe courtesy of Metabolic Cooking Makes 2 Servings Perfect for a snack, spread or sandwich Ingredients • 2 small whole wheat tortillas • ½ cup quinoa, cooked • 4 egg whites • ½ avocado, cubed • 1 cup lettuce, shredded • ½ cup salsa • ¼ cup red onion, diced • ½ cup black beans • ¼ cup fresh cilantro Directions 1. Cook quinoa and egg whites separately. Then mix with black beans, cilantro and onion. continue reading.

I remember when I was a skinny maggot and had a hard time getting a lot of calories down. It was one of the primary reasons I was a skinny maggot. You’ve gotta eat to grow. Yesterday, while watching two Giants victories I whacked down a huge plate of eggs and potatoes, a few pears, a cup of berries, an entire gluten free pizza, a pile of Jen’s bison meatballs, six cookies, and 3/4 of a cherry pie with coconut milk ice cream. But that was a far cry from the one day I ate 10,000 calories one Saturday in… continue reading.

In 2006 I went up to Boston to do a seminar at Total Performance Sports with some friends and colleagues of mine. The Friday night before it went down we all trained at TPS. I was going toe to toe with my buddy Smitty of Diesel Strength & Conditioning while Alwyn Cosgrove looked on in amusement. We went back and forth, constantly one upping each other and exchanging good-natured insults between sets. Over the previous few months my shoulder had been getting worse and worse from years of stupidity in the gym and several crash landings on dirt bikes, ATV’s… continue reading.

If you missed Part I click HERE. If you missed Part II click HERE. When we last left off I was telling Chris about how we needed to fix his hormonal issues that many hardgainers struggle with… “Okay, good. Let’s please do that.  I can’t live like this anymore. It’s getting so frustrating and depressing,” Chris told me. “Hey man, no one understands that more than I do (see the picture of me at 17 years old, after four years of training, to the left). But if you do what I say you will totally transform yourself. I’ve… continue reading.

If you missed Part I click HERE to read it. Now, back to the story of young Chris, the skinny-fat hardgainer. *** “Okay, so I can’t just rely on the big lifts, I should do some single leg, dumbbell and bodyweight exercises and I need to train my neck and forearms. And if I ever hope to see any growth in my calves at all I’ll have to bomb them like Arnold used to.” “You are correct, sir.” Got it. What else,” Chris asked. Myth #4: Hardgainers Should Train Very Infrequently “You said you were doing the classic HIT… continue reading.

I met up with Chris at Lola’s Coffee shop a few minutes after 10am on a Tuesday. He had a backwards Hurley hat on, faded jeans and a pair of Syracuse orange and navy Nike Dunks. At 6’1” and 170 pounds with narrow shoulders and a small potbelly Chris was anything but jacked. In fact, like me, he had the exact 180 degree opposite genetics of the kid in the picture to the left. Colorful traditional Japanese style snakes and dragons covered his 13-inch upper arms that dangled in his Volcom shirtsleeves. “Look at these pipe cleaners,” he said. “They… continue reading.

The bench press is as equally loved as it is hated. It’s a great size and strength building exercise, but at the same time, one that can wreak havoc on your shoulders, especially if you’re not 5’7″ and built like a brick shit house naturally. If you’re an average injury prone, skinny-fat dude or just someone with long limbs and/or tiny joints you’ve gotta be smart about how you program it. Unless someone is training for some sort of test I never prescribe a plain old, standard flat bench press. I like to add a few tweaks here and there… continue reading.

rsc1t “Hey Joe, always good to see you, my friend.” That’s what my buddy, Laslov says to me every Sunday morning at the Santa Monica farmers market as he engulfs my tiny mits with his massive bear paws. I’ve corrected him several times but just don’t have the heart to keep doing it. So for a brief moment in time each week I’m Joe, not Jay. My wife, Jen and I pick up a jar of freshly ground pecan butter from him along with a handful of green plums, both of which are absolutely delicious. Then we go to Harry’s… continue reading.

If you missed Part I, where the hell were ya? And what’s your excuse? Check it out HERE then rejoin the rest of us back on this page. We’ll wait and try to figure out exactly what exercise this girl is attempting. While we’ve got some time to kill I should mention that my babysitter did NOT look like Elizabeth Shue. Nor has she aged as well, which was evident when we reunited for the remake of Dirty Dancing not too long ago. Anyway… Everyone all caught up? Cool, let’s roll. 14) Low Rest Periods Rule Years ago I… continue reading.

The year was 1987. It was a fall day much like any other in Jersey. The Giants were starting their season looking to repeat as Super Bowl champs. The Simpson made their television debut, and Michael Jackson and Whitney Houston ruled the pop charts. But what’s of particular significance to the readers of this blog is what one skinny-fat white kid with a horrifically bad hairdo and equally bad teeth decided to do around this time a quarter century ago. After returning home from watching Dirty Dancing on the big screen with his babysitter he noticed something disturbing in the… continue reading.