Fitness

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.

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.