Before we can answer the question, “how often should you train a muscle,” a few factors need to be considered. What is optimal for a beginner would be detrimental for an advanced lifter. When you’re a newbie, progressive overload and frequency are two of the most important factors in building muscle. The more frequently you can train a muscle, while stimulating strength gains and without exceeding your capacity to recover, the more muscle you’ll build. This is no different than any other physical quality that you would like to improve in life. Want to become a better hitter?… continue reading.

People always ask me, “what are the best weight training exercises to build muscle and get strong?” But I like to add something to the end of that… “While remaining healthy, athletic and injury free.” Because then the game changes. Sure, you can do a lot of power and Olympic lifting but it will take a toll on your body and eventually you’ll get hurt. I prefer to put safety at the top of the list and stick with exercises that are joint friendly and don’t beat you up. That said, the basics are still the best. You judge an… continue reading.

“After 12 I’m worse than a Gremlin, feed me hip hop and I’ll start trembling.” – Rakim I’ve had an intense love affair with hip hop music since it’s birth. I grew up listening to Run DMC, Public Enemy, Slick Rick, LL, The Beasties and Big Daddy Kane.  In the early 90’s I spent my free time mixing records on Technique 1200’s. This is a subject I’m very passionate about and have spent decades studying. I was originally gonna simply list the top 50, but I figured that would be a cop out. To do this right I had… continue reading.

Guest Post by Brad Pilon, author of Eat Stop Eat Breaking it Down to Build it Up Fundamentally this what we are doing when we are in the gym. We’re doing some damage and stressing our muscles so they can repair and come back stronger. It reminds me of the plot of just about every Rocky movie. Rocky fights and Rocky gets his ass handed to him. Rocky makes a comeback. Rocky is bigger faster and stronger. Rocky wins. Eye of the tiger. I think we all kind of ‘get this’ when it comes to training, but what… continue reading.

Note: Pics from WWE.com 1) Have a Long Term Goal The WWE machine started building up The Rock versus John Cena a year in advance. This is how you need to think about your training. If you train just for the sake of training you probably won’t be that much stronger or look significantly different a year or two from now. So pick a few goals, like squatting 315 or doing 20 chin ups or losing 30 pounds or being able to hold a front lever for five seconds or whatever. Just have something you’re chasing to make… continue reading.

Question: Jay, I’m doing one of your programs and I wanted to ask about replacing some of the exercises. I don’t have rings or a Jungle Gym XT so I was thinking about replacing the ring flyes with cable flyes, the ring dips with bench dips, the inverted face pull with a cable face pull, the ring pushups with flat dumbbell presses and I will do all of the chin up and pull up variations as well as front lever holds on a straight bar. Is this okay? Answer: As I have repeatedly said since 1996,… continue reading.

Question: Do you have to squat, bench press and deadlift to become a better athlete? Answer: Absolutely not. Athletes need to get stronger and more explosive. They also need to improve mobility, dynamic flexibility and agility. Speed position players and weight class athletes need to minimize bodyfat. Many athletes need to improve conditioning, and often times they need to build muscle. You can accomplish all of those tasks without any of the lifts you mentioned. Athletes are not powerlifters so why would we assume that the three powerlifts are the best exercises for them? Many times strength coaches… continue reading.

There’s a simple formula for size and strength gains. Supply the signal to force adaptation to occur without doing too much damage in the process. In other words, you do the work necessary to force the muscle to grow bigger and stronger but consciously take steps to minimize three things: Spinal compression Joint degradation CNS (central nervous system) fatigue Like Lee Haney said, “Stimulate, don’t annihilate.” Today we’re going to focus on CNS fatigue. If the CNS is not recovered or ready to perform at max capacity your training and thus, your results will suffer. Here are seven ways to… continue reading.

There are at least an equal amount of people who ruin their athleticism through their strength training efforts, as there are people who improve it. The majority of guys who have been training for more than a decade have worse athletic ability than they did ten years earlier. It’s sad but true. Many typical training protocols will slowly but surely ruin your athleticism. The overemphasis on maximal strength, the shortened ranges of motion, the imbalances created, the injuries accumulated… It all adds up and one day before you know it you tear a hamstring playing a leisurely game… continue reading.

Guest Post by Renegade Inner Circle Member, Mark Lockwood I was stuck.  I mean really stuck. One day’s gains were next week’s losses and, by the end of the year, I was usually right back where I started. Six years of hard training had given me good relative strength in the big lifts, but very little had changed in recent years. I was starting to wonder if at age 39 it was even possible for me to make substantial gains. Then I stumbled onto Jay’s website and I was hooked.  The guy had some different thoughts on training and tons… continue reading.

Recipe courtesy of Metabolic Cooking Makes 2 Servings Ingredients • 2 medium (5oz) sweet potatoes • 1 teaspoon paprika • ¼ teaspoon onion powder • ¼ teaspoon thyme • ¼ teaspoon rosemary • ¼ teaspoon garlic powder • Pinch of cayenne pepper • 1 teaspoon olive oil Directions 1. Preheat oven to 375oF. In a small bowl, stir together paprika, onion powder, thyme, rosemary, garlic powder, and cayenne pepper. 2. Slice the sweet potatoes in half lengthwise. 3. Brush each… continue reading.

Most direct triceps exercises place too much stress on the elbows. That’s why compound pressing movements are your first line of defense in the war against tiny arms. At the top of the list is dips, preferably done on rings. Close grip pushup variations, both handstand and regular are also highly effective. Next up is any type of close grip pressing movement which can be done full range, on the floor or off of two or three boards. If you want to do an isolation exercise be sure to do one of these first. That will warm up your elbows… continue reading.

1)  Like Jack LaLanne said, “If man made it don’t eat it.” In other words, if it comes in a box or a bag your best bet is to skip it. Eddie Vedder also recommended that during YellowLedbetter, “Don’t eat it if comes in a box ooorrr aaaa bag… oh, no, no.” Go take a listen. 2)  Buy locally at farmers markets as much as possible. Stick it to the man. 3)  Focus on pesticide free produce and hormone/antibiotic-free animal protein. 4)  Make sure your fish is wild caught and not farm raised. 5)  Avoid drinking… continue reading.

After countless roadblocks and delays I can proudly say that I beat Dre. The Renegade Diet is no longer the Detox Album. It’s actually here. The most effective recomposition plan ever developed, that makes gaining muscle and losing fat simultaneously a reality is live right now! And during the special launch sale you also get a FREE copy of my brand new 16 week strength and conditioning program, Bad Intentions. So get on over to RenegadeDietBook.com right now and order your copy today!… continue reading.

Firstly, I want to thank all 98 people who shared their amazing stories. I know I said we were giving away five free copies of The Renegade Diet but it was too tough of a decision… So, after a group of us voted on the top stories we decided that instead of giving away five copies we’re giving away TEN printed copies. These will ship out next week as soon as we get your address. We have most of your email addresses but just to confirm if you have been listed below please email us at info [at] JasonFerruggia.com with… continue reading.