Fitness

Even if you’re training Renegade style, on the best programs in the world, you can always make your workouts a little better. Most Renegade workouts are written with public gym goers in mind or those with limited amounts of stuff in their basement or garage gym. But if you have access to other stuff the training can be greatly enhanced. With access to unlimited tools I would write many programs differently. Here are some very important notes regarding my programs and changes you can feel free to make: 1) Sub in Trap Bar Deads for the Straight… continue reading.

“Everybody’s doing something. We’ll do nothing!” If I told you that I’ve got a secret that will help you stay healthier and make far better strength gains this year than any year ever before would you be interested? Yes? Okay, here it is… Do nothing. Don’t lift weights. Don’t do bodyweight stuff. Don’t run sprints. Just do nothing. For a month. Now before you all get to thinking I’ve lost my mind (which happened many moons ago) let me explain. First of all, what I’m going to tell you doesn’t apply unless you’ve been training properly for at least three… continue reading.

My company’s logo depicts a recreation of a picture of Arthur Saxon taken in 1906. That’s because I’ve been obsessed with “old school” strength training methods for over 23 years. Whether we’re talking music, sneakers or training I’m old school through and through. From Hackenshmidt to Paul Anderson to Mentzer to Kaz, they’ve all been a huge influence along the way in shaping the Renegade Method and how I design training programs today. Vince Gironda was another big influence who was light years ahead of his time. Like me, Vince was a renegade; a rebel who never… continue reading.

Use these tips and you’ll get jacked. End of story… 1) Make Farmers Walks a Staple They build your traps, core and grip while developing tremendous total body strength and stability. And nothing is more functional than picking up something heavy and walking with it. Do them once a week for 3-4 sets of 30-60 seconds each. 2) Start Wearing Knee Sleeves Before You Need Them By the time you realize that you should probably start wearing knee sleeves it may be too late. The damage may already be done. There is no one who couldn’t benefit from wearing knee… continue reading.

The straight bar chin up with your palms facing you places too much stress on the wrists, elbows and shoulders and should be eliminated from your program. Even if you haven’t experienced it yet chances are good that a steady diet of supinated (palms facing you) straight bar chin ups may come back to bite you in the ass… or elbow, eventually. Pull ups (palms facing away from you) on a straight bar are a bit safer but could also be eliminated if you want to be ultra conservative or you have any shoulder problems. The simple solution is to… continue reading.

The Iron Guru, Vince Gironda was legend in the world of Physical Culture. Here are seven of his best tips. 1)    Get sufficient sleep each night. Growth can only take place after recuperation. Get plenty of rest. 2)    Build up enthusiasm for each workout. Going through the motions of training will not produce results. You would be better off not training. 3)    Cycle your training. Never do today what you can’t supersede tomorrow. Don’t perform more exercises or more intensity than necessary to maintain an upward growth pattern. 4)    Never continue your workout so you run out of steam before… continue reading.

Most of you know by now how much I love the old school pioneers of the Iron Game. One of those legends I always pay my respects to is “The Iron Guru” Vince Gironda. Today I’m gonna give you an awesome way to combine the  Renegade Method with Vince’s training principles. First, start your workout with some type of explosive power exercise like a jump, throw or Olympic lift. This is pretty much a Renegade staple. Three to five sets of 1-5 reps will be sufficient for most people. After that move on to your maximal strength exercise. That will… continue reading.

Instead of discussing how little you can get away with to get in decent shape, let’s talk about how many days a week you should work out for maximal muscle growth and fat loss. Because if you’re reading this site you want to be built like a modern day warrior or Greek God. You’re not the average couch potato looking to just “tighten up a little.” Everybody wants the easy way out. Ten minute arms. Eight minute glutes. Six minute abs. Ya know what nobody wants? The truth. That building muscle and transforming your body takes HARD WORK. How many… continue reading.

Today’s post is from a forum discussion in the Renegade Inner Circle. Question: Jay, I’m opening a new gym and I want to run group training out of it and set it up “Renegade style” as I have a lot of old clients and leads who are interested because I use to teach similar type group training at my old globo-gym. My question for you is what baseline equipment do you recommend getting for it. I know prowler, tire, kettlebells etc. Just wanted to see what your recommendations would be. It would be mainly mainstream… continue reading.

Anyone who reads this site regularly knows how much I hate 99% of all public gyms. It’s just not really my scene. Plus they never have the stuff I want and always have too much of the stuff I don’t want. I found this piece by Stuart McRobert which echoes my sentiments (and probably yours) and thought it was awesome so I’m sharing it here: “This gym is all appearance and no substance. It is only because we have a lot of fancy-looking equipment that we impress everyone who knows little or nothing about training. Because we have spent a… continue reading.

How long should your workout last if you want to build muscle and gain strength at the fastest rate possible? When it comes to workout duration less is more. To increase muscle hypertrophy and get stronger you want to get to the gym, hit it hard, stimulate size and strength gains, then get out. That means no more than sixty minutes total, including warm up time. When you start training your body will naturally boost testosterone levels significantly higher than normal. This increased output peaks somewhere around a half hour into your workout. By taking blood… continue reading.

I have a great article for you today by my colleague, Brad Pilon. Brad is a super smart dude who knows more about nutrition than most people have forgotten. He’s also one of the few guys I rely on for dietary advice. Check it out… How Much Protein Should You Eat Per Day? By Brad Pilon You’d think by now we’d have a clear-cut answer to this question, but to tell you the truth, ‘how much protein’ is a question we’ve been trying to answer for over 200 years. In fact, protein has played a central role in nutrition… continue reading.

Bodyweight exercises need to be part of your program if you want to get build muscle, burn fat and improve your overall athleticism. Not everyone needs to or should lift a barbell, but bodyweight exercises are essential. I’ve used them to rapidly transform the bodies of professional athletes, models and entertainers. One of the many things I love about them is they can be done anywhere at any time. But I’m not just talking basic pushups, sit ups, air squats and high rep calisthenics. That’s beginner stuff that won’t really build muscle beyond your first few months of training. We’re… continue reading.

People often ask me, “Are trap bar deadlifts safer than straight bar deadlifts?” In the past I might have been inclined to say yes. But that was before I witnessed a lot of average guys sustain some really odd injuries while trap bar deadlifting over the last three years. You see, when you get used to working with a higher level, more athletic clientele it can skew your viewpoint on things a bit. I’ve found that to be the case with a few concepts that I once believed to be true. After being able to test them on a wider… continue reading.

Arthur Saxon was a big influence on me, as obvious by the Renegade logo at the top of this site. I’m obsessed with old time strongmen and old school methods of training. One of the things I like about the early days of Physical Culture is that everyone did everything. Meaning that bodybuilders lifted heavy weights and competed in contests where they had to do more than pose. Lifters possessed impressive physiques and usually didn’t gain unnecessary fat to simply improve their leverages on an exercise and lift more weight. Olympic lifts were not practiced only by Olympic lifters but… continue reading.