This is a great article by a colleague of mine and I guy I have the utmost respect for, Steve Maxwell. It reinforces what I have always said about doing sprints, strongman conditioning, playing sports, etc to get in shape instead of just mindlessly pumping away on the stair climber. To see that Steve practices what he preaches check out his pic to the left and take note of the fact that he is FIFTY FIVE years old! ——– By Steve Maxwell One morning, while observing a female endlessly running the treadmill-to-nowhere-fast, I realized… continue reading.

By Jim “Smitty” Smith When you think about the most basic abdominal exercises, the first one that pops into your head is probably planks. Planks are where a person lays out into a push-up position but instead of being on their outstretched hands, they rest on their forearms. In this position, the athlete or lifter will remain for a specific length of time. If the time exceeds one and a half minutes that is considered pretty good. The benefits of planks include rehabilitating a back injury, glute activation, developing proficiency for bracing the torso with intra-abdominal pressure and an… continue reading.

If you have been around the Iron Game for a while, there is one name that comes instantly to mind when people discuss leg training. That name is Tom Platz. “The Golden Eagle” is widely regarded as having the most massively muscular legs in the history of bodybuilding. His thighs measured a whopping 35 inches and were shredded to the bone. Tom’s program that created those unforgettable wheels revolved around one exercise and one exercise only; the barbell squat. If you want to add some serious mass to your legs you had better familiarize yourself with this… continue reading.

Let’s face it; nobody wants to be skinny and weak. Deep down everybody desires the ripped, muscular physique of a UFC fighter or an NFL running back. But the question that perplexes many of you is “how do I get that look?” Well search no more because I am about to teach you how to gain weight and build muscle at break neck speeds and finally achieve the head turning physique you have always dreamed of. Most skinny guys and wannabe mass monsters make numerous mistakes in their training programs and naming them all here would… continue reading.

While watching the summer Olympics the last few days you would be hard pressed not to notice the great physiques possessed by many of the athletes. But by far and away the most muscular bodies always belong to the gymnasts and the sprinters. These guys certainly know how to build muscle more effectively than most average gym rats. For years now I have been extolling the virtues of moving your body through space when you train, as opposed to simply moving your limbs around a fixed object. When you move your body through space, as the Olympic… continue reading.

One of the most popular, faulty and dangerous myths espoused in nearly every muscle building program is that you must use a full range of motion on every exercise in order to achieve maximal growth. Supposedly you have to take each movement to the fully stretched position and then finish in the fully “peak” contracted position. If you don’t you will never get huge… or so they say. Without getting all technical and scientific let’s just look at a few real world examples to see if this advice makes any sense at all. Starting from the… continue reading.

I want to extend a huge congratulations to our first ever Muscle Gaining Secrets Transformation contest winner, Kyle Matthews. Kyle did an incredible job, and through hard work and dedication made incredible changes to his physique and dramatically improved his strength. I was in contact with Kyle throughout the transformation contest in our private forum and was extremely impressed with his work ethic and desire to excel. He is an inspiration and deserves the big prize. continue reading.

While most doctors and health professionals try to scare you into avoiding sodium at all costs, this could actually be the worst advice around for anyone looking to enhance their performance or build a better physique. In fact, there are studies which have shown that moderately high levels of dietary sodium produce very few negative effects or are not actually linked to hypertension and other diseases and conditions. For most of my athletes and clients, eating too much sodium is never a problem; it’s actually consuming too little sodium that is the problem. Once… continue reading.

Today I have a special guest post from my friend and colleague, John Alvino. Check it out… I get asked all the time, “What is the best fat loss exercise?” In reality, there is no single “best fat loss exercise”. Instead, you must have a database full of several extremely effective fat loss exercises. When you have many great exercises to choose from, you will eliminate mental boredom and physical staleness, and you will always keep your body challenged. This helps ensure continued progress, prevents overuse injuries and keeps… continue reading.

I was interviewed recently by Truly Huge and thought I would share it here with everyone. Q: What got you started with weight training? JF: I was a painfully skinny kid and always hated that. It tortured me and really affected my self confidence. My cousin was dating a pro wrestler who was absolutely enormous and he was the one who got me really into it. I wanted to be just like him so I started hitting the iron. Unfortunately I was doing a lot of the wrong things and wasted a lot of years… continue reading.

Nothing says power like a big set of traps and a thick neck. Think about it. When you’re out somewhere and you see a guy with massive traps and huge neck you automatically know he’s the last guy in the joint that you’d ever want to mess with. Maybe he’s an ex wrestler. Maybe he competes in MMA. Or maybe he played football. You don’t know but you definitely don’t want to find out. No other muscle groups instill fear in and command respect from all those around you like the traps and neck do. Plenty… continue reading.

Is a pump needed to build muscle? Some people emphatically state that getting a good pump is necessary. Others say just the opposite. First of all, the ability to easily obtain a good pump is a sign that your body is in an anabolic state and ready to train. It shows us that the body and the cells are well hydrated and ready to grow. Some days, you go to the gym and can’t get a pump no matter what you do. Your body is telling you something, and that something is that you are not in an anabolic state,… continue reading.

There is an old idea that still permeates mixed martial arts circles and that is the idea that strength work is not necessary or should, at best, be a secondary consideration. Many combat coaches and athletes spend hours and hours a week on conditioning. Often times this is all they will do, neglecting any kind of strength work whatsoever. I understand that conditioning is the most important quality for a combat athlete to develop but you have to realize that improving your strength is vitally important as well. Statistics have shown that at lower… continue reading.

Yesterday I spent the afternoon in Central Park at the Men’s Fitness Ultimate Athlete event. While it was a great event for a great cause and I met a lot of great people I was reminded of the importance of leading by example. My good friend, Sean Hyson of Men’s Fitness, who was looking as jacked as ever, jumped into the competition to show that he can not only talk the talk but walk the walk. I was really impressed by Sean’s willingness to get his hands dirty while he was working and put his money where his mouth… continue reading.

Although I am not a fan of high reps on most exercises for most lifters, there are actually times when I do recommend them. So if you want to learn how to build muscle with high reps, then read on. When you are more advanced and have developed a respectable level of strength, high reps can actually be a great tool for stimulating new muscle growth. The reason I don’t recommend high reps to beginners is because they don’t have the strength, coordination or stabilization to maintain perfect form throughout a long duration set and are likely… continue reading.