As much as people tend to want to get into advanced exercises as soon as possible, I firmly believe that high levels of core stability are required before you can even attempt to do some of the more basic ab exercises. I made this mistake for years when I was younger and had the chronic back pain to show for it. Core stability is actually often more important than core strength when it comes to preventing injuries and staying healthy. I highly recommend that everyone start with the following four isometric exercises done on a 6-7 time a week basis… continue reading.

By Dave “The Muscle Cook” Ruel Makes 4 Servings Ingredients * – 1 Tbsp olive oil * – 1 chopped onion * – 2 egg whites * – 1/4 cup oat bran * – 1/4 cup cooked, mashed sweet potato * – 1 teaspoon oregano * – 1/2 teaspoon sea salt * – 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper * – 1 lb / 455 g ground bison Directions * 1. Heat olive oil over medium heat in a skillet. Cook the onion until soft and… continue reading.

Along with my friend Sean Hyson of Men’s Fitness, I had lunch on Saturday with Mac Danzig, the winner of last seasons Ultimate Fighter and future UFC champion. Upon meeting Mac for the first time one of the things you notice immediately is that he is incredibly polite and respectful; nothing like the image that they created for him through the magic of editing on The Ultimate Fighter. The second thing you notice is that his hands are incredibly huge compared to the rest of his body and that you probably wouldn’t want to get hit by one of them. continue reading.

If you want to build a thick, muscular back there are three exercises that you need to become very familiar with. Those exercise are chin ups, rows and lastly but most importantly; deadlifts. If you did nothing but those three exercises faithfully you would end up with a muscular and impressive looking back. The back muscles make up a huge portion of your total musculature and developing them will add pounds of mass to your frame. So how do we go about developing all of the muscles of the back? Firstly we have to address the traps which start at… continue reading.

If you want to know how to build muscle fast you’re in the right place. Because I’m gonna reveal five quick and easy tips that will help you reach your goals, while avoiding frustration, plateaus and injuries. Sot let’s get to it… 1) Train Your Ass Off… But Don’t Kill Yourself You’re not gonna get anywhere if you don’t train your ass off. Let’s make sure everyone is clear about that. I see guys in the gym pussyfooting through workouts, texting between sets while resting five minutes, and using weights that my mom would use. That’s how you waste time,… continue reading.

What is the single most important thing you can do at the gym to ensure that you will continually get bigger and stronger? It’s very simple. The most important thing you can do each and every single time you go to the gym is try to set a PR (personal record) on every lift you do. That’s it. What this means is that you should always be trying do either do more reps with the same weight (within reason, any sets above 12 on most upper body exercises and 15-20 reps on lower body exercises will do nothing to stimulate… continue reading.

Last night I was at the gym doing deadlifts. I had planned on doing two sets but I went a little heavier than I should have on my first set. As I stripped a plate off each side to prepare for my back off set I felt a twinge in my back while bending over. I stood up and tried to stretch out but it didn’t help much. “Whatever,” I thought. I have had this happen a hundred times and have always plowed through it. I put the plates back and tightened up the collars. When I finished writing in… continue reading.

Makes 3 Servings (3 Burgers) Ingredients • 1 pound ground turkey • ¼ cup minced onion • 3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley • 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce • 2 tablespoons minced green bell pepper • 1 tablespoon soy sauce • 1 tablespoon water • 1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger • Salt and pepper • 2 cloves garlic, crushed Directions 1. Combine all the ingredients in a big bowl. 2. With clean hands, squeeze it together until it’s very well combined. 3. continue reading.

Today’s post is stolen from my good friend Keith Scott I agree 100% with what he said and wanted to share it with you in case you have been living under a rock and haven’t started taking fish oil yet. ******* The INCREDIBLE Benefits of Fish Oil By Keith Scott If you don’t supplement with fish oil then you are missing out on one of the best researched, most effective and important supplements on the market. Before I start with the benefits, a quick explanation of what fish oil is might help to start this… continue reading.

Question: I’ve read that stretching before your workout lowers your power for about 15mins after the stretch, which is the bulk of the lifting session. Is that true? If so, should I be stretching at all before my workouts? Thanks! -SSgt Carol L. Miller Jr. Answer: Carol, it is debatable how long this negative effect lasts. I don’t recommend stretching statically before training unless you absolutely need to in order for you to get into certain positions. This means that if you have chronically tight hips and can’t squat properly without hitting a few… continue reading.

Many times I hear this excuse from people who do absolutely no exercise at all. They say they have no time to train. They feel and look terrible yet they have no intentions of doing anything about it. I was at the park doing some sprints a few days ago and saw a guy there pushing his kids on the swings. When they got off the swings and went to play on something else the guy, in his mid forties, went over to the chin up bar and attempted to do a single rep. He couldn’t even get half way… continue reading.

“I have been trying to gain muscle all my life. It is probably one of the hardest things I or, for that matter, anyone has tried to do naturally. It’s frustrating, time consuming, and with so many people telling you so many different things downright impossible to know what is the most effective way to build muscle without the harmful use of steroids. However, I have come across a program called Muscle Gaining Secrets that truly is geared toward the hard-gainer, the guy that is dedicated and has tried everything he can to build muscle with… continue reading.

What is it about the owners of public gyms that makes them think that people want to listen to… TECHNO when they train? How does techno equal training music? I don’t get it. Am I the only who is bewildered by this phenomenon? Who gets fired up to lift heavy weights to this crap? Isn’t this what guidos in wife beaters pump their fists to in clubs at 4am? Or did that fad die in the 90’s? I don’t know, but I do that Eminem was right when he said (in Without Me) “Nobody listen to techno!” So public gym… continue reading.

A good friend of mine asked me yesterday what my top ten albums to train to were. After much thought and deliberation, here is what I came up with. Note that live albums and greatest hits were not allowed; strictly studio albums. Although it is blasphemous to mention their name in public and usually results in your being labeled a douchebag, and Fred Durst was the worst excuse for a rapper ever, Limp Bizkit did make some pretty good music to train to for a couple years there. 1) Rage Against The Machine- Rage Against The Machine 2) Rage… continue reading.

Today I’m gonna put training on the back burner and discuss my other biggest passion in life which is music. The state of music today can be quite dismal at first glance. Every Tuesday when new albums are released I log onto iTunes and buy at least 30-50 new songs. I check the new releases, grab some stuff there and then end up spending a half hour searching out other stuff that somehow makes its way into my account. When I look at the top ten charts though, I’m usually sickened. T-Pain? Colby Calliat? Souljah Boy? Baby Bash? Fergie? Good… continue reading.