Two things every bloke in the gym wants: the biggest biceps and the biggest bench press.
Well, believe it or not, these two things actually synergise quite nicely.
I know what you’re thinking, "Do you even lift bro? Bench pressing doesn’t work [...]
Fitness is now playing out like a scene from Fantasy Island.
The images that pummel your eyeballs on social media, while intoxicating, are about as authentic as a Lance Armstrong interview on sportsmanship.
Young men, juiced up like genetically mod [...]
On January 1st of this year I turned 30.
As well as ushering in a malaise of cynicism and despair, crippling hangovers, an aversion to doing anything other than drinking tea in my pyjamas on a Friday night, and the weary acceptance that we will [...]
I remember it like it was yesterday.
One afternoon in my university gym, when I probably should have been in a lecture or spreading E. Coli around a lab, I had just finished my third drop set of triceps pushdowns and I thought I was THE MAN.
But im [...]
Sometimes it’s tough to motivate yourself to get down to the gym.
You’ve been up since six, spent nine hours doing a job you hate and all you want to do is unwind on the sofa.
If this sounds familiar, perhaps it’s time to consider getting [...]
You’ve not seen any gains in the last week.
Panic overwhelms your mind.
It’s the protein, you’re not getting enough.
Or maybe you undershot your macro allowance two days ago causing your muscles to wither away.
It’s likely your wa [...]
The 6th Century BCE.
As a blood-red sun rises on the Eurotas valley the men of Sparta spill forth from their barracks.
Battle-hardened demi-gods begin anther day of ceaseless toil, honing their bloodied bodies into athletic killing machi [...]
Here I’m going to address some common gym mistakes that I see over and over again with newcomers.
Along with Charlie's previous article on rookie mistakes in the gym, these are the absolute top tips for when you’re starting out, and hopefully fo [...]
We all know him, every gym has one.
The guy who steps into the squat rack, loads up far too many plates and proceeds to do what can only be described as, at best, half reps.
He’ll re-rack and then walk away looking proud of himself, secure i [...]
We all have days when we just can't be bothered.
Maybe it's the thumping hangover encroaching on your productivity, maybe it's the miserable weather dampening your mood, or maybe you just really want to find out whether the couple in Escape To Th [...]
As the old adage goes, the camel is a horse designed by committee (they’re having a go at the camel, which they shouldn’t).
Well, looking at some of the resistance machines that feature in gyms around the country, one would reach the conclusio [...]
Living through the modern era can be a blessing and a curse.
While we are fortunate enough to have fingertip access to an almost infinite database of information - be it scientific research, music, film, or videos of Japanese women ejecting eels f [...]
I've listened to enough of Chad Wesley Smith's Strong360 podcasts to appreciate that the best way to improve one's competition powerlifting PRs is to simply focus on those lifts in training.
But when you're really maxing out on squat and getting [...]
As summer comes to an end - and with the Olympia on the horizon - most lifters will be dreaming about making some serious gains over the next few months.
Whether it's packing on some size, increasing strength, or a mixture of the two, manipulating [...]
The great thing about being young is your ability to recover.
Remember the days you could hit the town, get utterly glazed, party till the sun came up then head into work for a skull crushing 12 hour shift?
And now?
Well anything less than e [...]
As a guest on Gymtalk today I have decided to tackle the topic of your shoulders.
You see the good ‘ole shoulder joint seems to be a problem area for many lifters and bodybuilders alike and there are generally some very common reasons for this.
[...]
Take a glance back in time five years and in the winter months you would find gyms packed with people lifting as heavy as they could while simultaneously cramming pizzas, burgers and anything else their hearts desired down their gullets.
All in an [...]
So here's the deal.
You've been training regularly for the last 6 months hitting that 3/4 day split that you found in the pages of Muscle & Fitness magazine.
You're religiously hitting 3 sets of 8-12 reps on every exercise and sinking prote [...]
When working out most of us do not stray far from the typical, tried-and-tested exercises.
And while bench, squat and deadlift are no doubt extremely effective ways of piling on size and strength, hitting the same lifts week in week out can someti [...]
Here's the deal:
You're not really working out hard enough.
Really, you're not.
You're on the phone checking out some idiotic status update on Facebook, catching your breath just before you blast out that set of 10.
10 absolutely brutal l [...]
We get it, you’re busy.
Everyone is busy.
Friends, family, kids, degrees, work, businesses to maintain.
It doesn’t matter, we are all in the same boat.
So stop feeling sorry for yourself and forget the excuses.
If you are short on time or ju [...]
To the bros out there who just joined the lifting game this year, welcome to the brotherhood.
You've started your journey into the iron and no doubt you've already been met with looks of derision as you've unknowingly broken one of the sacred rule [...]
Looking back to when I first started training makes me feel a little embarrassed.
Most sessions ended up becoming extended bouts of bench pressing and biceps curls.
If I couldn’t see the muscle it didn’t exist and therefore didn’t need wo [...]
We’ve all been there at some point in our lives...
Cutting those last few pounds of fat ready for the beach; preaching ‘no carbs before Marbs’ like some kind of religious fanatic; walking on the treadmill for the duration of an entire Jeremy [...]
Let's be clear on one thing:
If you want to build an intimidating, beastly physique, you need to squat.
As our man Mike Rashid points out, squatting is the "key to a structurally sound physique".
Although traditionally performed on leg day, [...]
After your first few months in the gym, you'll no doubt graduate from semi-professional gym goer to full-time gym rat.
Congratulations!
However, this does mean that your days of rocking up to the gym in your favourite tank and a pair of TOMS ar [...]
Yes readers, it’s that time of year again.
When all the foreign football players have stopped wearing gloves and long sleeve tops it can only mean one thing...
Summer is coming!
And if you're anyone that's anyone, you need to be in tip-top [...]
Let me set the scene...
While busting out another pristine set of below-parallel squats, you spot some chief doing bicep curls.
There he is, throwing his back into every rep, and he just about gets 8 reps.
If you can call them reps.
You n [...]
