Fitness

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.

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.

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.

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.