When someone started lifting weights for the first time back in the 70’s, 80’s or 90’s the only goal was to get bigger and stronger. It was unquestionable and undeniable. Why else would you lift weights? There was no other thought that would even possibly enter your mind. No one had ever heard the ball shriveling term “metcon,” or would consider interspersing laps around the building in between sets of jerks and fifty rep snatches. Back in those days you knew about training from seeing Arnold and Franco in Pumping Iron or watching Kaz compete in the Worlds Strongest Man… continue reading.

Some people think they can’t use lifting straps because it’s not accepted by the “hardcore training” police. “That’s pussy shit that bodybuilders do. I’m not doing that.” Maybe it is… or maybe that’s why their back looks better than yours. If you want to do rows with a weight that’s probably twenty or thirty percent less than you can handle, be my guest. Sure, turn a good back exercise into a grip challenge and never train your back with as much weight as it’s capable of handling. That makes sense. What a lot of people don’t realize is that grip… continue reading.

You know why you’re not making the progress you had hoped for? Why you’re spinning your wheels and frustrated almost to the point of depression? Why you look the exact same right now as you did 6-12 months ago? What you’re doing at this very moment is part of the problem. Reading this website could be killing your gains. Why? Because you already read two dozen other training websites and Twitter feeds today that told you two dozen different things. And you have no fucking idea what to believe or do. You’re not sure if you’re supposed to be training… continue reading.

Most public gyms suck these days. I don’t really think too many people would argue with that. However, if you’re lucky enough to live by a place like my friend CJ Murphy’s Total Performance Sports (pictured above), in Everett, MA your local gym is “wicked retaaded” and you should consider yourself blessed. The rest of the world is very jealous of you. Unfortunately, great gyms like that are few and far between these days. They certainly don’t make ’em like they used to. That’s why so many people who like to train Renegade style end up building a home gym… continue reading.

“LaRue, you up and ready? I’m gonna swing by and grab you for a quick run to the mall,” I tweeted @CraigBallantyne (to save money on the international texting, because I am just that smart) at around 8:30am on Friday. Since Alwyn and Rachel Cosgrove and Chad Waterbury had gotten in late from the West Coast I figured they would all still be asleep along with other friends and family members staying at the hotel. But I knew that whippersnapper, Ballantyne would be up and working. I picked up Craig and we embarked on a journey for some new Vans. continue reading.

Stop worrying about shit. It’s as simple as that. And doing so can dramatically change your life. Never worry about that which you cannot control. To spend time thinking “what if,” or stressing about things that potentially may go wrong is a total waste of your time here on this planet. If something is beyond your control there’s no use even thinking about it. Focus only on what you can control and don’t waste time worrying about anything else. “What if my boss yells at me for trying this new approach?” “What if this marketing campaign fails?” “What if I… continue reading.

If you’re a genetically average, drug-free guy who wants to build muscle fast it’s essential you know how many reps to do. Most of you are probably sabotaging your gains by training improperly. If you’re skinnier and weaker than you liked to be you have to force your body to grow by providing a massive amount of overload. What do you think is going to do that more effectively? Doing heavy weights for a set of 5-8 reps? Or doing light weights for a set of 15-20 reps? Obviously, the heavy set will provide more overload. continue reading.

Firstly, we have a new look to the site which is a bit cleaner and should make for easier reading. It’s still a work in progress and we’ll be making a few more changes. I hope everyone likes it. After an awesome night out on the town Wednesday in NYC with John Alvino, Sean Hyson, Zach Even-Esh and six of my other closest friends (including Mark Crook and Mike Schwalb who I’ve mentioned plenty of times before) I’m still trying to piece it all together and make sure my liver still works. It was a wild night. Those dudes know… continue reading.

The best muscle-building workout split for most genetically average, drug free, busy guys is no split at all. Full body workouts are the premier and logical choice for those seeking the fastest gains in size and strength. This is how all the legends of the Iron Game trained a century ago and some very big, strong men were built on full body workouts. Gymnasts do full body workouts and they have incredible levels of muscularity and strength. So do Olympic lifters. The more muscle you can activate during a workout the greater growth stimulation you’ll receive. It’s just that simple. continue reading.

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.