Fitness

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.

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.

Question: Do you have to squat, bench press and deadlift to become a better athlete? Answer: Absolutely not. Athletes need to get stronger and more explosive. They also need to improve mobility, dynamic flexibility and agility. Speed position players and weight class athletes need to minimize bodyfat. Many athletes need to improve conditioning, and often times they need to build muscle. You can accomplish all of those tasks without any of the lifts you mentioned. Athletes are not powerlifters so why would we assume that the three powerlifts are the best exercises for them? Many times strength coaches… continue reading.

There’s a simple formula for size and strength gains. Supply the signal to force adaptation to occur without doing too much damage in the process. In other words, you do the work necessary to force the muscle to grow bigger and stronger but consciously take steps to minimize three things: Spinal compression Joint degradation CNS (central nervous system) fatigue Like Lee Haney said, “Stimulate, don’t annihilate.” Today we’re going to focus on CNS fatigue. If the CNS is not recovered or ready to perform at max capacity your training and thus, your results will suffer. Here are seven ways to… continue reading.

There are at least an equal amount of people who ruin their athleticism through their strength training efforts, as there are people who improve it. The majority of guys who have been training for more than a decade have worse athletic ability than they did ten years earlier. It’s sad but true. Many typical training protocols will slowly but surely ruin your athleticism. The overemphasis on maximal strength, the shortened ranges of motion, the imbalances created, the injuries accumulated… It all adds up and one day before you know it you tear a hamstring playing a leisurely game… continue reading.

Guest Post by Renegade Inner Circle Member, Mark Lockwood I was stuck.  I mean really stuck. One day’s gains were next week’s losses and, by the end of the year, I was usually right back where I started. Six years of hard training had given me good relative strength in the big lifts, but very little had changed in recent years. I was starting to wonder if at age 39 it was even possible for me to make substantial gains. Then I stumbled onto Jay’s website and I was hooked.  The guy had some different thoughts on training and tons… continue reading.

Most direct triceps exercises place too much stress on the elbows. That’s why compound pressing movements are your first line of defense in the war against tiny arms. At the top of the list is dips, preferably done on rings. Close grip pushup variations, both handstand and regular are also highly effective. Next up is any type of close grip pressing movement which can be done full range, on the floor or off of two or three boards. If you want to do an isolation exercise be sure to do one of these first. That will warm up your elbows… continue reading.

Question: Jay, wrestling season is almost over and I have a few guys lined up to come in after the season. I have a general idea of what I want to do with them, but just wanted to see if you have any special considerations for these guys. Right now, my plan of attack is: 3-4 week recovery period with lots of SMR, stretching, rehabbing nagging injuries and imbalances, and bodyweight work Off-season training- work a lot of strength work with submaximal weights, explosiveness with jumps, med ball work, and Olympic lifts (dumbbell only). Also work on muscular… continue reading.

I’ve covered this topic before but judging by some of the questions I receive I may not have been clear enough. So I’m gonna try it again… Fuck bulking and cutting. Clearer? The concept of bulking and cutting is old school bullshit that went out with fanny packs and jean shorts. For the initiated it means that you eat like crap for several months while training hard and heavy. The theory behind it is that it’s impossible to gain large amounts of muscle mass without getting fat in the process. So you accept a bunch of fat gain along with… continue reading.

By David Claiborne As a strength coach, one thing that I always try to make sure I do is to learn from the best. That is why last month, I traveled (once again) up to New Jersey to learn from one of the guys who originally got me in this industry and I turn to frequently for information to help take my coaching, and my clients and athletes results up another notch. Sure, I could join his Inner Circle (I did), and just read his blog posts (I have been for 3+ years now), and say… continue reading.

Can you can gain muscle without getting fat? Anyone can eat a ton and lift heavy weights for a few months. The result is they will gain weight. That’s for sure. Unfortunately, in 99% of cases, more than half of it will be fat. That’s never  a good look. But by following a proper diet and adding in some type of high intensity conditioning work a few days per week you actually can build muscle without getting fat. Traditional medium intensity cardio methods will eat away too much muscle and should be avoided for this reason. Besides it’s… continue reading.

I’ve posted this infographic on my Facebook and Twitter pages a few times but since I figure not everyone sees those all the time it’d be a good idea to post it here. Plus I like to review it myself from time to time to make sure I’m not spending more than three or four hours per day sitting… because, uh… that shit equals DEATH!!! Sitting is killing you Via: Business Insider PS. If you have to sit because of your job then you definitely have to do more mobility work on a… continue reading.

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.